The Phoenix
by Danny vs A Month
Summary: Sado wants simple things. Happiness, days off with his girlfriend, to beat Natsu's ass for once. But when you're in Fairy Tail, is anything ever simple? As dark powers work on their own twisted plots, dark secrets from Sado's own past come back to haunt him. Secrets that even he himself doesn't know.
1. Chapter 1

I do not own any of the original Fairy Tail characters.

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New job

Sado stretched as he sat at a table, sipping his soda and relaxing. He held his left hand out, flames flickering into existence in his palm before forming into the silhouette of the guild's waitress, beginning to dance in place on his palm. Beside him, one of the other wizards chuckled seeing it.

"Man you're hopeless," the man laughed. "If you're going to make her dance you might as well make her dance naked."

Sado let the flames go out, scowling at him. He raised his hands in front of himself, sighing.

"Fine, fine," the wizard said. "Forget I said anything."

"I intend to," Sado said as the waitress walked over, a wide smile spreading on Sado's face. "Hey Mira."

"Hello Sado," Mira smiled, reaching down and kissing him before straightening back up and taking the other wizard's empty mug, giving him another filled with beer. "When's your next job?"

"Probably in about an hour or so," Sado said. "Wanna come?"

"I'm sorry. I really want to. It's just...well...you know."

"I know," Sado said. "It's alright. Once I get back I'll be here for a while."

Mira nodded, smiling. Then, she turned, returning to her job. As she walked away, Sado took another drink from his soda, forcing his eyes to the ground.

"You're allowed to stare, you know," a girl to the side, Levi, said. "You're her boyfriend."

"I know," Sado said. "It's just...nevermind. It doesn't matter. Anyway, where's Natsu? Shouldn't he be back by now?"

Just then, the door burst open, a boy a couple years younger than him stepped in. The boy had messy pink hair, a white scarf wrapped around his neck, an open black vest, white shorts ending just below his knees, a black skirt-like cloth hanging behind his legs, and black sandals.

"We made it back alive!" the boy shouted the moment the door was open, all of the wizards in the guild congratulating him, Sado rolling his eyes.

This was Natsu. Natsu always acted like the mission he went on was his last, and he always acted like it was some shock that he survived when he returned. Really the only thing that might kill him was his motion sickness. He couldn't ride on any kind of vehicle at all without becoming violently ill. It was actually rather entertaining to watch.

"It's about time Natsu!" Sado said, standing and walking toward him. "Time for our re-"

Natsu backhanded Sado in the face, launching him backward as though it were nothing, the attractive blonde following Natsu staring at Sado in shock.

"What the hell Natsu!?" she shrieked.

"Calm down," Natsu said. "That guy's a lot stronger than that. He's just not really in the mood to fight."

"I am now," Sado growled, standing. "Face me, you pink haired freak!"

"Really?" Natsu said, turning. "Is that the best you've got?"

Sado punched toward Natsu, a blast of flame shooting out of his hands at him. Natsu merely sighed, opening his mouth and inhaling the flames, swallowing them. He fired several more blasts before Natsu finally sent a wall of flames back. Sado swung his arms forward, sending out a much smaller wall of his own, the flames exploding against each other as they met, throwing Sado into a wall.

"We've been over this Sado," Natsu said. "You only fight with flames. I eat flames. You can't beat me."

"Just stay down Sado," the other boy with Natsu and the blonde, Gray Fullbuster, said.

Gray was wearing his usual outfit, a pair of black jeans and a black shirt under a white trench coat. Not that he was going to keep it on long. Gray had a habit of randomly, and seemingly instantaneously, losing his clothes to some random spot, leaving only his boxers, that God.

"You want to go too popsicle?" Sado asked.

"Man, you have got to work on your insults," Gray said. "Sure. I'll humor you."

"Excellent," Sado grinned.

"No," another voice said. "You're going to start a brawl, again."

"What else is new Elfman," Sado said, turning to the behemoth of a man who had tanned skin, a square jaw, a heavily muscled body, white-silver hair combed back, and who happened to be the younger brother of Mirajane.

"If you keep starting trouble, I might just decide you're no good for Mira."

"Oh right, because your sister's _so_ helpless," Sado said, rolling her eyes.

"That's not the point!" Elfman snapped.

"You're all hopeless," a woman at the bar who was dressed in a blue bikini top, brown pants, and with a full keg of beer beside her said. "Just fight and get it over with. Here. I'll help."

She picked up a bottle and hurled it, hitting a wizard who wasn't paying attention in the back of the head then pointing at Natsu. Instantly, he tackled Natsu into a table. Then, those wizards joined in and the fighting spread until it was an all out brawl. Elfman sighed, turning back to Sado.

"Alright," Elfman said. "I'll say it. I'm rescinding my blessing. You're to stay away from my sister."

"Elfman, this is the third time you've taken it back," Sado said. "As usual, yes, I'll fight you for it."

"I'm not interested in fighting you for my blessing," Elfman said. "Even if you beat me, you're not good enough for-"

He was cut off by Mira smashing her tray over his head then standing with her hands on her hips, glowering up at him. Sado smirked. Argument over. Sado's victory.

"On what grounds are you taking it back _this time_?" Mira asked. "I'm perfectly capable of handling anything Sado would ever dare do, which basically means compliments. What could you possibly not approve of?"

"Oh...well...he...he starts trouble!" Elfman said.

"So do you!" Mira said. "And Natsu, and Gray, Lord knows Erza does."

"When's she due back anyway?" Sado asked.

"In a little while," Mira said.

"Hey Sado!" Grey shouted.

Sado turned, finding Gray already throwing a punch. Sado snorted in amusement, blocking it before grabbing Gray's arm, bending it at the elbow then flipping him over, slamming him down on a table before kicking the table, flipping it away from himself.

"Quit interrupting," Sado said.

Beside him, the blonde stared at him in complete shock.

"How can you go from getting thrown with a backhanded slap to doing that!?" the blonde gaped.

"Oh Sado's actually one of our strongest members," Mira smiled. "He just loses his cool whenever he tries to fight Natsu because Natsu's the only person that's immune to his magic."

"I suppose that makes sense," the blonde said.

"What's your name anyway?" Sado asked.

"I'm Lucy," she said. "So, who are you?"

"I'm Sado, Mira's boyfriend," Sado said.

"Mira has a boyfriend?" Lucy blinked. "So, you don't mind that she..."

"What, the photoshoots?" Sado snorted. "Of course not. It's not like it's nudes or anything."

"I suppose," Lucy nodded. "Anyway, that's great for you."

Sado nodded just as a massive figure crashed to the ground, roaring angrily, everyone freezing, Lucy absolutely terrified.

"Would you all stop bickering like children!" the behemoth thundered.

"Oh, I didn't know you were still here Master," Mira smiled up at him.

"Master?" Lucy asked.

"That's right," Sado smiled. "Lucy, meet Fairy Tail's Guild Master, Makarov."

"Oh, it looks like we have a new member," Makarov thundered, looking down at Lucy.

"That's right," Lucy squeezed.

Makarov began to shrink, quickly retaking his usual stature of a foot an a half tall, dressed in an orange jacket and pants with a roll of paper in his hand and a hat on his head with two cone-like protrusions from the top, both of them folded backward and down, sort of like horns. He had messy grey hair and a bushy gray bear.

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Makarov smiled. He turned, leaping up to the railing of the next level before turning back around, clearing his throat. "You kids have gone and done it again! Do you know how much paperwork the Magic Council has sent me this time?" He held out a thick stack of sheets. "All you hooligans are good for is getting the higher ups mad at me! However," the papers suddenly burst into flames which he threw, scattering them into the air for Natsu to jump up and eat. "I say to heck with the magic council. Now listen up, any power that surpasses reason still comes from reason, right? Magic isn't some kind of miraculous power. It is a power that only works when the flow of energy inside of us and the flow of energy in the natural world are in perfect synchronization. To perform magic one must have a strong mind and the ability to focus. It should take over your being and come pouring out of your soul. If all we do is worry about following rules then our magic will never progress. Don't let those blowhards on the council scare you. Follow the path you believe in. Cause that's what makes the fairy tail guild number one!" He held up his hand, palm backward with his index finger extended and his thumb extended along his hand, the other members of the guild cheering and doing the same, except for Sado.

As the cheers died down, Makarov climbed down to the bar, getting himself a mug of beer while Sado walked over to the request board, looking from one to the next.

"What are you going to pick?" Mira asked, stepping up behind him and wrapping her arms over his shoulder, Sado reaching up and taking both of her hands in one of his, leaning his head against hers.

"I was thinking about the bandits," Sado said. "But this escort one sounds more fun."

"But it only pays a couple hundred jewel," Mira said.

"True, but I don't exactly need the money, and few people actually pick the low-paying jobs," Sado said. "I gotta do one every now and then. Besides, maybe I'll pick up a new kind of magic to beat Natsu's ass with."

Mira giggled, kissing him on the cheek. "Well, whatever you do, hurry back. I'm taking a few days off starting tomorrow."

Sado grinned widely, ripping the escort poster off the board. He turned, kissing her before leaving, heading across town to where the person who put the request in was waiting.

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	2. Chapter 2

I do not own any of the original Fairy Tail characters.

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Sun Tanning

Sado sighed, leaning his head against the window of the train. Across from him, his client, a girl slightly older than him who was admittedly fairly attractive with long wavy blonde hair in a pony tail and sea blue eyes wearing a sleeved dress with a diamond cut into the front to show off her cleavage, smiled at him.

"I'm so grateful that you agreed to escort me," she beamed.

"Oh I'm sure," Sado said, rolling his eyes. "Because Jenny Realight of the Blue Pegasus guild really needs to be escorted."

"Well no," she smiled. "Really I was just hoping to find a suitable boyfriend. Typical that you'd be the one to take the quest."

"Always happy to screw your plans up," Sado smiled. "At least it's an easy mission."

Jenny laughed, nodding. "True. You'll be home to Mirajane by sunset."

"Good," Sado smiled before looking out the window, smile turning into a grin. "Oh look, comedians."

Suddenly, the wall of the train was blasted inward and Sado and Jenny stood, three men wearing dark cloaks with cloth masks over their lower faces stepped onto the train, turning toward her.

"Oh yes, you'll do nicely," one said.

"Oh?" Jenny asked. "Are you looking for a girlfriend?"

"Actually, we were talking about him," the middle man, probably the leader, said, pointing at Sado who snorted in amusement, failing to suppress his laughter and bending forward, holding his stomach. "What's so funny?"

"Oh you have no idea who you're dealing with," Jenny grinned. "What do you want him for?"

"Our boss wants a Fairy Tail member," the man said. "He doesn't care who. Just wants a ransom."

"Tell you what," Sado said, wiping tears of mirth from his eyes. "I'll let you three each take one free shot. But you better make them count, because as soon as the third one hits, I'm going to hit back."

The leader scoffed as Jenny took several steps back, Sado holding his arms out invitingly, closing his eyes. The one on the right cracked his knuckles then stepped forward, a magic circle forming in the air in front of him. Then, a bolt of lightning shot out of it, blasting Sado in the shoulder and sending him flying backward a few feet. He landed on his back and stood, grinning.

"Not bad," he grinned. "Next?"

The left side one stepped forward, shooting a fireball at him and blasting him backward again, his shirt ruined this time.

"Oh I love fire type magic," Sado said standing. "And last but not least."

The third sped forward, his right fist transforming into cast iron as he pulled it back. Then, he slammed it into Sado's gut, lifting him into the air only for Sado's eyes to open and a grin to spread over his face as he caught the man's arm.

"You should have gone for the face," Sado said, flipping over him and slamming him to the ground. "Then I'd be unconscious."

He snapped the man's elbow then stomped on the back of his head, knocking him out before turning to the others. The fire user launched another fireball at him and Sado caught it, passing it between hands behind himself like a basket ball before flicking his hand outward, the fireball growing to double its size as it shot back, exploding against its original master, blasting him out through the hole. The last one staggered backward.

"So Sparky, you still wanna fight?" he asked.

The man turned, leaping off of the train and Sado tossed the leader off as well, sitting back down and folding his hands behind his head.

"Show off," Jenny smirked, sitting down.

"Eh, sometimes," Sado shrugged. "We're almost there."

Jenny nodded, smiling. A few minutes later, they reached their stop, getting off the train and walking away as the conductor stared at the hole. After a few minutes, they reached Jenny's house and Sado turned, walking away.

"Don't you want your pay?" Jenny asked.

"What, five hundred jewel? Nah, keep it. Buy yourself a drink. And drink one for me."

Jenny smiled, waving, and Sado waved over his shoulder, walking out of town before cracking his neck and grinning.

"Alright Sado, you can do this," Sado said. "It's only two miles. Oh man, this landing's going to hurt."

Then, he jumped, flames exploding out of his hands and feet, launching him through the air, hands out to his sides to keep him stable. He shot through the air, wobbling and nearly being sent into a tumbling free fall by the wind, as usual. However, he managed to keep straight, speeding over the ground painfully fast. Then, finally, Magnolia came into view and he grinned, sweat pouring off of him. He could feel his energy dropping like a stone as it got lower. Like a funnel. The lower it got the faster it went. Then, his flames stopped and he groaned, beginning to fall.

"Shit!" he shouted.

The wind roared past his ears, seeming to get louder as he neared the ground. Then, he grit his teeth only for a pair of arms to wrap around him, stopping his fall and slowly lowering him to the ground. He turned, smiling at Mira who shook her head.

"You were close that time," Mira smiled.

"I'll get there one day," Sado smiled. "So, already on a day off?"

"I just finished work, actually," Mira smiled. "What are we doing first?"

"Whatever you want," Sado said.

"Okay," Mira smiled. "Let's go our beach."

Sado smiled and nodded, the two splitting up, Mirajane heading to her house and Sado heading to the guild hall. Once both had put their bathing suits on, along with normal clothes to cover them, they met back up outside the guild hall and walked out of town and then South East. They reached a wooded area after a bit, and after a little bit of walking, they reached a stretch of beach where there were trees blocking the view of it from up and down the beach, a pair of cliffs to block the view from further out into the water on either side, and ships would be too far out to notice them. The stretch of beach was about three hundred meters wide, the cliffs extending outward about a hundred meters, giving them plenty of room for any beach activities they wanted. Which usually ended up being sun tanning or napping.

Sado spread the blanket out on the beach, taking his shirt and pants off and folding them, setting them down and lying down on the towel. Beside him, Mira pulled her dress over her head, leaving her in her admittedly rather inappropriately small bikini, which Sado absolutely loved, then spread her own blanket out before laying down on top of him anyway.

"I never have understood why you insist on bringing a towel if you just lay on top of me anyway," Sado said.

"I actually have to tan for my next photo shoot this time," Mira said. But you're more comfortable than the ground."

"You're welcome to tan on top of me," Sado offered. "I can even out my tan using my fire."

"That's not the same as a sun tan," Mira laughed.

"Sure it is," Sado said. "Cooking in the sun and speed cooking from my fire have the same effect. One just hurts more."

Mira laughed before reaching up and kissing him. He kissed her back, hands resting on the small of her back. After a couple of seconds, her tongue trailed along his lower lip and he allowed her entrance, his own tongue meeting hers, the two fighting for dominance. As they continued to kiss, Sado's hands began to slide up her back, Mira's body shifting slightly as they did. He began to slide them back down, only to catch himself as he reached the curve of her hips and pulling back, breaking the kiss. Mira sighed, resting her forehead against his as both caught their breath.

"Sorry," Sado said.

"It's alright," Mira smiled. "Eventually."

Sado nodded, giving her a quick kiss before she rolled over onto her own blanket and pulled out her sun tan lotion, getting her arms, legs, stomach, breasts, and crotch, since she hated tan lines and therefor tanned naked. Then, she held the bottle out to Sado who sighed, shaking his head and smiling.

"You're a sadist," Sado smiled, sitting up and putting some lotion on his hands.

"Your the one who was named after the word," Mira smiled. "Besides, we can both see how much you enjoy it, so stop complaining."

Sado smirked, shaking his head and grinning, squirting a massive pile onto her back, making her squeak as the cold lotion hit her back. She glared back at him and he smiled innocently, moving some of it to each shoulder and thigh. Then, he sat on the backs of her knees, keeping his legs under him to keep his weight off of her, and began to spread the lotion over her back, feeling her shiver partially from the temperature of the lotion and partially from the contact. He smiled, shaking his head as his hands slowly massaged the lotion into her lower back, working their way up to her shoulders and upper arms, the back and sides of her neck, then back down her back. He slid a little further down her legs, making room for him to massage the lotion into her thighs, hands ghosting down the sides of her hips, making just enough contact for her to know they were there, before moving back up to the back of her thighs, massaging the lotion there into her skin as well, starting on the back of the right leg, then the outside, then finally moving to the inside of her thigh, Mira moaning as he did, spreading her legs a little more so he'd have plenty of room, Sado lifting up to give her room. Once he was sure the right leg had had enough massaged in, he moved to the left, giving it identical treatment. Then, finally, he got a little more out of the bottle, beginning to massage it into her ass, Mira moaning as he did. Sado closed his eyes as he worked, struggling to keep himself under control. Mira was a ridiculous tease. But he had to keep himself under control.

Finally he finished, moving back to his own blanket and laying down, staring up at the sky and taking several deep breaths. Finally, he closed his eyes, trying to force himself to sleep, succeeding to put himself in a sort of half-sleep trance for about half an hour before waking himself to roll over. He glanced at Mira as he did, seeing she had also rolled over. He closed his eyes again, putting his face down, forehead against the ground and returned to his half-sleep. The only downside with this method of control was that, even though he managed to keep himself from holding Mira down and having his way with her like he desperately wanted to, in his mind he did that and so much more. As a result, when he woke himself from his half-sleep, his shorts were uncomfortably tight. He pushed himself up, hearing Mirajane let out a noise somewhere between a giggle and a pleased hum, feeling his cheeks heat up.

"Don't laugh at me, it's your fault," Sado said, walking out waist-deep in the water and placing his palms together, taking a deep breath. "Control. Focus. Breathe." He took a deep breath, letting it out slowly.

As he released his breath, he held his hand out in front of himself, flames forming in his palm before spreading about three inches to the right of his hand and then spreading outward in front of it. They eventually tapered to a point about three feet from his hand. Finally, a pair of thin tongues of flame spread up and down just above his hand. He closed his hand around his flaming sword and it condensed, focusing into a more clearly defined sword shape, though the flames on the edge closest to him still flickered and licked at the air. He crouched, taking his beginning stance and began to flow through his basic movements, using the water as resistance training for his legs, forcing him to improve his footwork most. After a few minutes of that, he hurled the sword, waiting a few seconds before snapping his fingers, the sword exploding into a massive ball of fire. He swung his hand, a second forming in the amount of time it took him to swing his arm. Then, he let it fade, swinging both arms outward, a twin pair of flames shooting out of the base of his fists as his arms finished their swings, forming up like a pair of dagger blades. He began to work on his knife techniques, fighting his way through the water again and again before letting the knives fade and sighing, walking back toward shore and sitting on his blanket beside Mira, allowing his eyes to rome over her body for a moment before lying down and sighing, feeling the sun warm and dry his skin.

"You're getting better at controlling it," Mira said, not opening her eyes.

Sado smiled, sighing. "Yeah, right up until I lose my temper. Then I'm back to the usual problem."

"It's alright," Mira smiled. "If you lose your temper, Master Makarov or I can step in."

"I'd prefer it if you'd just let Makarov do it," Sado sighed.

"I know," Mira smiled, rolling onto her side to face him, lifting up of the ground and supporting herself with her hand. "Just like you know that I'm going to keep doing it anyway because I love you."

Sado smiled, reaching up and kissing her, Mira kissing him back. After a moment, he pulled back, gritting his teeth, Mira smiling.

"It's starting to get late," Mira said. "We should start heading back."

Sado nodded, standing and using his fire to dry himself before picking up his blanket and shaking it off before getting dressed. Mira packed up her own blanket and pulled her dress back on and they left the beach behind, heading home.

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	3. Chapter 3

I do not own any of the original Fairy Tail characters.

* * *

Bad Mood

Sado stepped into the jewelry store, the store's owner and sole employee, an elderly woman about three feet tall and with her hair in a bun, smiling up at him.

"It's about time you got here," she said. "I almost sold it to some young couple who were here yesterday."

"I was at the beach yesterday," Sado shrugged, smiling as the woman shook her head, grinning knowingly and walking to the back and coming back with the necklace.

"So, when are you going to ask?" she asked.

"I'm hoping soon, but there's something I need to do before I can," Sado said.

"Well, knowing you it's probably got something to do with that pink haired boy who's always wearing the scarf," she said. "Now go on. Get out before I decide to hire you."

He laughed. "See you around."

He left the store, walking toward the guild hall, opening the door and looking around, only to frown when he didn't see the silver haired beauty that he was supposed to be meeting today. He checked the clock, but he was actually a few minutes late. He walked over to Erza who looked up at him, spotting the necklace and grinning.

"Well well, he comes bearing gifts," Erza grinned. "She's in the spare room upstairs trying to decide on an outfit. I think."

"Jeez," Sado sighed. "Her and he dresses. Alright. I might as well go hurry this along. Again."

"Isn't it weird that she keeps her dresses here instead of at her house?" Gray asked from off to one side.

"Oh she has some there too," Erza said. "These ones are just extras."

"How many does she have?" Gray asked.

"Well she _is_ a model," Sado said, walking up the stairs to the spare room.

He pushed the door open and froze, eyes wide. Before him, Mirajane was on her hands and knees facing toward him, a guy he definitely didn't recognize kneeling behind her, their clothes piled on the floor at the foot of the bed.

"Oh, Sado," Mirajane said. "I'm sorry. I must have...lost track of time. I'll be...right down."

"Don't bother," Sado snarled. "I'm going on a job."

"Sado, wait!" Mira called out, but Sado turned, not touching the door so as not to light it on fire from the flames shooting out of his hands suddenly and reaching nearly to the ceiling.

He stormed back down the stairs, dropping the necklace beside Erza who picked it up instantly, then turning and walking to the board, one of the guild members present ripping off a request to kick bandits out of a town and holding it out and allowing Sado to bite it, turning and walking toward the door, which several members opened for him, all present recognizing that they needed to stay out of his way. Just as he stepped out of the door, he stopped, seeing Natsu a short ways away, having stopped upon seeing Sado. Sado let the poster fall to the ground and Natsu sighed, handing his pack to Lucy.

"Lucy, move," Sado snarled. "Now."

"What's your problem?" Lucy demanded.

"Lucy," Natsu said, tone completely serious. "Move."

"What's wrong?" Lucy asked.

"He's in the mood for a fight," Natsu said. "So you need to get away from me before we start. Into the guild hall would be safest."

"Why?" Lucy asked. "Can't you beat him easily?"

"Not this time," Natsu said. "He's one of our strongest, especially when angry. When he's angry, there's a very small list of guild members allowed to fight him. I am because of my ability to eat fire, but aside from me, the rest are all S class or above."

"What?" Lucy asked.

"Let me explain it this way," Natsu said. "Aside from me, the rest of the mages around to fight him are at least as strong as Erza. And it's not a long list. Me, Erza, Mirajane, Laxus, Gildarts, Mystogan, and the Guild Master."

"That few?" Lucy asked.

"Yes," Natsu nodded. "When he's angry, he's ten times stronger than when he's calm, but he has a lot less control. Right now, he's not angry. He's pissed. I don't know what set him off, but I'm going to have to fight him, so you need to get out of the way."

Lucy nodded, turning and hurrying inside with Happy. Natsu turned back to Sado and cracked his knuckles, eyes narrowing.

"I don't know what set you off, Sado, but don't worry, I'll calm you down," Natsu said.

Sado set his foot on the paper he had dropped, sliding it out of the way before moving his foot off of it and stepping forward. Natsu crouched, knowing exactly what to expect, and a second later, Sado crashed headlong into his gut, flames flying out of his hands and feet, propelling both into the air then out of the city. He flipped as they reached a massive field, sending Natsu crashing into the ground. Natsu stood as Sado dropped to the ground in front of him, flames flying off of his hands again, even larger than before now that he wasn't restraining them.

"I suppose I shouldn't try and hold back then huh?" Natsu asked, eyeing the size of the flames. "Alright, bring it on!"

Sado punched at Natsu several times, Natsu catching the fireballs he launched in his mouth each time, swallowing them before Sado shoved both fists forward, sending a massive stream of flames at Natsu. Natsu growled in annoyance, opening his mouth and beginning to swallow it as it reached him, eyes squeezed shut in effort. After several seconds, however, Natsu dove out of the way, the stream of flames tearing along the ground, scorching a couple hundred meters of it in a massive cone. Sado turned toward Natsu, grinning.

"So there is a limit," Sado grinned.

"Yeah," Natsu said. "And now, I'm at my strongest." He stood, looking up at Sado and grinning, exposing his now sharp teeth and the scales his skin had become in patches. "Fire Dragon-"

Sado shot forward, closing the distance in an instant, flame daggers flashing around at Natsu. Natsu shouted in fear, throwing himself out of the way, the daggers shredding the back of his vest and lighting it on fire. Natsu yanked it off, throwing it aside, then took of his scarf, folding it and setting it aside as well, turning back to Sado as Sado charged again. Natsu sprinted forward, flames exploding from his own hands. Sado's daggers exploded into massive streams of flame that engulfed Sado's arms up to his elbows, streaming backward from behind him. When they met, they both punched, their fists meeting and the flames exploding. As Sado landed, he instantly swung his arm, sending out a massive arch of flames at Natsu. Natsu flipped over it, the arc exploding on the ground. As Natsu was falling Sado began to inhale.

"Fire Dragon Roar!" Natsu shouted before exhaling a massive wall of flames.

Sado opened his mouth, an equally massive jet of flames spewing from his own mouth, the sheer force and volume of flame creating a deafening, demonic roaring sound as it did. The two streams met in a massive constant explosion, the constant winds from the explosion holding Natsu in the air directly above Sado, the wind reaching the city enough to make the citizens who had come out to see what was going on have to shield their eyes from the dust it kicked up. After several seconds, both ended at the same time, a massive ball of flames forming around Natsu's fist as he fell, flames shooting out of his feet to speed him up. At the same time, Sado leapt off the ground, similar flames propelling him as a massive fist-shaped fireball formed around his own hand, both fireballs almost as big as their wielders' torsos. When the fireballs met, they exploded instantly, both mages crashing into the ground, forming a pair of massive craters and dust clouds. Then, both exploded out of them, both with twin streams of flame following them.

"Fire Dragon Wing Attack!" Natsu shouted as both swung their arms forward, their flames exploding into each other's as Sado essentially copied Natsu.

Not that the power was copied. As the attacks exploded, only Natsu was sent flying. Natsu crashed down hard, struggling to his feet and breathing hard as Sado stood, eyes starting to glow.

"Oh shit," Natsu groaned. "You really are pissed, huh? I guess I'm going to have to take some damage for this."

Sado exhaled another stream, a deafening roar once again accompanying it. Natsu once again, caught the flames in his mouth, gritting his teeth as the sheer heat of the flames began to burn the skin around his mouth. When he reached the most he could swallow, he dove to the side, gritting his teeth as his fresh burns leading down over his left shoulder seared in pain. Then, he stood.

"Please just let me knock you out before you do something really stupid!" Natsu snarled, holding his hands out to his sides as a pair of enormous fireballs both bigger than his body, formed. "The flames of my right hand, and the flames of my left hand! Put them together and you get..." he shot forward, Sado moving to meet him.

As they charged, Sado opened his mouth, the same roar as before echoing out of his mouth, this time coming from him, Natsu swearing under his breath as a massive flaming fist formed around Sado's hand.

"...Fire Dragon Brilliant Flame!" Natsu shouted, gritting his teeth as he slammed the two fireballs together over his head, swinging it down as hard as he could at Sado.

Sado threw his punch, the fist hitting Natsu square in the chest at the exact same time as Natsu slammed the fireball down on Sado's head. Both exploded, resulting in an enormous column of flame. Then, after a moment, the base of the column exploded, sending a wave of flame into the air before the flames faded, leaving a mushroom of smoke. As the smoke began to clear, Makarov, Gray, and Lucy all sprinted over, Makarov growing into his giant form and clapping, the force of it blowing the last of the smoke away, revealing the enormous crater at the bottom. On one side, Sado was lying in a small indentation in the side of it, burned and with his pants reduced to charred shorts, but alive and finally unconscious. On the other side, Natsu began to slowly stand, swaying heavily and panting, but sighing in relief.

"Thank God," Natsu sighed. "I did it. Damn. That was close, though."

"Natsu!" Lucy shouted as she and Gray ran over, both staring at the burns now covering Natsu's entire torso in front, as well as some on the back of his left shoulder.

"I'm alright," Lucy said.

"I thought you were fireproof," Lucy said.

"I can only eat so much," Natsu said. "Once I hit my limit, that's the end of it. Even I can be burned. Fortunately, I spent all the energy I had on that last attack and managed to swallow enough of the explosion to stay awake, in case it wasn't enough."

"You did well, Natsu," Makarov said, setting Sado down beside them and shrinking again. "He must have been pretty angry. He was almost out for blood."

"He almost found it," Natsu said. "Anyway, we should get him back. He's in pretty bad shape."

"You're not looking so good yourself," Lucy said. "Is he going to be okay?"

"When he wakes up, hopefully, he'll have calmed down," Natsu said. "If he didn't, Erza will most likely be right there to force him to."

Lucy nodded and Gray picked Sado up on his back, then helped Natsu support his weight as they started back.

"So, what set him off to begin with?" Lucy asked.

"Trust me," Gray said. "You'll find out when we get back. But for now let's just leave it at, he had excellent reason."

Lucy nodded and they continued in silence.

* * *

Erza watched as Sado took off, ramming into Natsu, trying to get out of the city before he lost control, Lucy running after them, determined to watch the fight.

"At least he has that much control," Erza sighed. "Still though. What did he see that...No. No fucking way. That can't..."

She, along with everyone else left in the guild hall, stared at the steps as a completely red faced man hurriedly walked down them, speed-walking out of the building. He had come from the spare room, and Suddenly Erza understood exactly why Sado was so angry. She was almost angry enough to go on a rampage herself.

"EVERYONE GET THE HELL OUT! ! !" Erza seethed. "NOW! ! !"

No one argued. They all disappeared from the building so fast Erza might have thought they teleported, if she wasn't staring at Mira's thoroughly confused face.

"What the hell are you thinking!?" Erza spat, gripping the handle of a mug so that she didn't just beat the living shit out of Mira flat-out.

"I...why's he so angry?" Mira asked.

"EXCUSE ME!?" Erza shrieked. "You actually have to ask!?"

"I don't understand," Mira said. "Did I say something?"

"DID YOU..." Erza stared at her incredulously before taking several breaths to calm herself, speaking through gritted teeth. "You know, for being the kindest and most empathetic person in the guild, your ability to understand things like relationships and love is beyond pathetic!"

"What do you mean?" Mira asked.

"The fact that you even have to ask that just proves that you don't know anything!" Erza spat before forcing her temper under control. "You honestly have no idea what you did wrong, do you?"

"No," Mira said. "If you know, please tell me."

"My got you're a stupid bitch!" Erza laughed humorlessly. "Fine. How long have you and Sado been dating?"

"I a little over five years," Mira said, brow furrowing in confusion. "But what-"

"Shut the fuck up and listen!" Erza snapped. "Now, how long ago did you lose your virginity?"

"I don't know," Mira said. "About three years ago? But what-"

She stopped as Erza's arm snapped out, hurling the mug against the wall and smashing it before she turned, kicking a table and sending it flying.

"You stupid cunt!" Erza spat. "I can't believe you!"

"What?" Mira asked.

"How many times have you had sex?" Erza seethed.

"I don't know, twenty?" Mira asked.

"And how many times with Sado?" Erza asked.

"None," Mira said. "Are you trying to say-"

"SHUT THE FUCK UP YOU BLIND, RETARDED CUNT WHORE! ! !" Erza screamed, finally so angry that her magic was radiating off of her in thick red waves, Mira falling silent, having never once seen Erza so angry. "How many!?"

"How many wh-"

"HOW MANY GUYS HAVE YOU FUCKED! ? !" Erza screamed.

"I-I don't know!" Mira said. "Ten? Twelve?"

Erza stopped, staring at her as her magic slowly thickened. "You fucked twelve guys, eight of them at least twice, but you've never once had sex with Sado?"

"He doesn't want to yet," Mira said.

Erza's magic vanished instantly, Erza staring at her.

"Mira, what is sex to you?" Erza said. "And I don't mean literally."

"It's fun, a pass time, a hobby, whatever you want to call it," Mira said. "Please, just tell me-"

"If I have to say shut up one more time, I'm cutting your tongue out of your mouth," Erza snarled, Mira nodding. "Now, what if someone wanted to call sex intimate, or an expression of love, or the ultimate expression of love?"

Mira's eyes widened, before her brow furrowed even further in confusion, Erza groaning, face in her hand.

"I'm so angry with you that I'm not even angry anymore," Erza said. "Mira, listen to me very carefully. Anyone but you, literally anyone, considers sex to be one of, if not the most, intimate things you can ever do with another person. It's _supposed_ to be done with the person you are in love with, and _only_ the person you're in love with. Sure if you're single it's okay to go out and fuck some random person, but if you're in a relationship, it's not. It's cheating."

Mira's eyes grew to the size of saucers.

"You've been cheating on Sado for more than half of your relationship, you stupid bitch!" Erza said, growing angry again now that Mira understood. "I can understand why Sado won't sleep with you! Obviously he knew that sex didn't mean anything to you."

"Why would that-"

"He wants it to mean something!" Erza interrupted, slamming her fist down on the table beside her that she hadn't kicked, fracturing it. "To both of you! If he slept with you, all it would be for you was fun!"

"That's something!" Mira argued, sounding like she was trying to convince herself more than Erza, especially with tears running down her cheeks.

"NO IT'S NOT! ! !" Erza screamed. "It would be absolutely meaningless! You're not supposed to have sex with someone because it feels good! You're supposed to have sex with someone because you love them!"

Mira began to sob but Erza slapped her.

"Stop crying!" Erza spat. "You don't have any right to cry! _You're_ the one who broke _Sado's_ heart! You crushed him!"

"I...I didn't mean..."

"I don't care!" Erza spat. "Elfman's always carrying on about how Sado doesn't deserve you because of what Sado is, but obviously he's got it backward! You don't deserve Sado! You never have!"

Mira fell silent, eyes wide as she stared at the floor, falling to her knees as her legs suddenly gave out.

Erza looked down at the necklace. "You might as well have this. He brought it to give to you today anyway." She threw it to the floor in front of Mira, Mira slowly picking it up and staring at it.

It was a complete string of diamonds with a single marble-sized lacrima sphere that was as clear and smooth as glass woven into the front of the necklace with a tiny fire flickering in the center of it. She stared at the fire in silence for several moments before looking up at Erza in confusion.

"What...is it?" Mira asked.

"You really don't recognize it?" Erza asked. "It's Sado. It's his fire. As long as he's alive, it'll continue to burn endlessly. And the moment he dies, it'll go out. For a real couple, that actually loves each other, that would probably be one of the most valuable gifts someone could get, the peace of mind that the person you love most, wherever they may be, is still alive. It must have cost him a fortune."

Mira stared at the necklace, tears flooding down her cheeks again as Erza made a disgusted noise, turning and walking out of the guild hall. Mira began to sob, pressing her forehead to the ground and clutching the necklace to her chest. Then, the doors opened and she sat up, staring as Gray walked in, carrying a horribly burned Sado on his back and supporting Natsu, who was covered in his own share of awful burns. As Gray walked toward her, she stood, taking a couple of steps forward only for Gray to lose his temper as well.

"Get the hell away from him!" Gray seethed, Mira stopping instantly. "Don't you think you've caused him enough pain today? Just look at him! This is entirely your fault!"

Mira staggered backward a step before sprinting past them, leaving the guild hall. Gray continued up the stairs, taking Sado to the male dormitories and then to Sado's room, setting him down gently on his bed, Natsu lying down in the other bed, since Sado didn't have a roommate and the bed was unused. As he did, Makarov stood in the doorway, watching the two for a moment.

"I'm going to get Porlyusica," Makarov said. "At the very least, Sado is going to need her. Gray, watch over them while I'm away. And I'm leaving Erza in charge."

"Okay," Gray nodded.

Then, Makarov left, flying out of the guild hall and taking off as fast as he could fly.

* * *

Leave a review. Okay, so, don't hate me for this chapter. I actually love Mirajane and absolutely hate writing her like this. But it's for the storyline. Please trust me. Anyway, tell me what you think.


	4. Chapter 4

I do not own any of the original Fairy Tail characters.

* * *

Aftermath

Sado groaned as his eyes slowly creaked open, finding Erza sitting beside him, looking worried. He sighed, pushing himself up slowly, teeth clenching as pain lanced through his body.

"Dammit Natsu," Sado growled as he reached a seated position. "That's what I get for letting him absorb so much of my power. Let me guess, you're here to make sure I'm calm?"

"I'm here because I'm your friend," Erza said. "And also to make sure you're calm."

"I'm fine," Sado sighed. "Where's Mira?"

"How much do you remember?" Erza asked.

"Everything," Sado said. "Where is she?"

"She's downstairs working," Erza said. "I'm so sorry Sado."

"Thank you, but I already knew," Sado said.

"You what?" Erza gaped. "But then..."

"The days she took off were supposed to be for us to spend together, not for her to spend fucking someone else right before she was supposed to be meeting me," Sado said. "Especially right before she was supposed to meet me."

Erza nodded silently. "Are you two going to break up?"

"I don't know," Sado said. "I probably won't until I see her. I'm guessing Porlyusica healed me."

"Mostly," Erza nodded, holding out a bottle. "She said to have you drink this when you woke up, and to tell you to stop complaining and drink it."

He raised an eyebrow, pulling the stopper out of the bottle and sniffing it, gagging. Then, he pinched his nose and tipped the bottle up, swallowing the vomit-flavored sludge inside of it. It had the consistency of a slushy, except that it was room-temperature and tasted absolutely disgusting. Once he had gagged it all down, he put the stopper back in, grimacing and holding a hand to his stomach as it rolled and churned, trying to force the sludge back out, only for Sado to hold it in. Finally, the churning stopped and he felt his burns itch as they rapidly faded, not even leaving a scar. He sighed, standing beside the bed and looking down, seeing he was wearing a fresh pair of his pants and underwear.

"Um, who..."

"Gray and Macao," Erza said, Sado nodding.

"Okay," he said, walking to his dresser and pulling a clean red tee-shirt out, pulling it on.

He pulled his jeans' pant legs up as he slipped his socks and sneakers on, then walked out of the dormitory with Erza, heading toward the stairs. However, as soon as he stepped down on one, he felt his knees buckle, Erza appeared below him and catching him as he fell. She sighed and set him on his feet, helping him support his weight. They carefully made their way down the rest of the stairs and to the main room of the guild hall where Erza helped him to a table, going to the bar and getting him a ham and cheese and a bottle of water. She sat beside him, setting the food in front of him and he grinned, picking up the sandwich and using his flames to toast it before taking a bite, feeling his stomach roll and covering his mouth, forcing the bile down before grabbing the water and washing the food down, grimacing.

"Great," he sighed. "Too weak to be able to keep food down."

Erza gave him a sympathetic look and he began to eat, using the water to force everything down, the task growing progressively easier as he continued. Finally, he finished eating and sighed, looking up and spotting Mira, their eyes locking for a half second before hers fell to the floor and his own moved to the necklace she was wearing, the one he had had made for her. He smiled slightly but it faded instantly. He sighed, standing. She looked over at him and he nodded once before turning and walking upstairs, leaning heavily on the railing. She followed him, finding him in front of the S class quest board. She walked over, stopping behind him, remaining silent.

"The necklace looks beautiful on you," he said. "Though, I suppose anything would."

"Thank you," Mira said, one hand resting on the pendant. "Thank you for the necklace."

Sado nodded and both fell silent, both struggling to figure out what to say. What they even _wanted_ to say.

"Sado, I'm so sor-"

"Don't," Sado said, Mira stopping, staring at him in confusion. "I don't want an apology."

"I never meant to hurt you," Mira said quietly.

"I know," Sado smiled. "I know you didn't. I always knew, you know. I knew right from the start what you were doing."

"You...but...you never said..."

"I couldn't," Sado said. "I wanted you to be happy. Even if that meant being with other people. Still, every time I thought about you having sex with other people, I couldn't help but think, 'What if she loves this one? What if I lose her to him?' But most of all, all I could ever think was, 'I'm not enough for her. I'm not good enough. That's why she's sleeping with them. She's trying to find someone better.' I thought about letting you go so many times. About ending it so that you'd be free to find someone you really loved, so that I wouldn't be holding you back anymore. But I could never bring myself to do it. In the end, I was selfish. Even if it meant you weren't happy, I couldn't break up with you. I couldn't lose you. So, I decided to keep quiet about it. To stay with you as long as possible. I thought I could handle it, but...This time was supposed to be about us, Mira. Just us. We were supposed to be taking time off in order to spend it together. But less than a full day later, you're already having sex with someone else. And I just couldn't take it. Not anymore."

"I'm sorry!" Mira choked out, sobbing quietly. "I'm so sorry! I never meant to hurt you! I didn't understand! I know that will never make it okay, but I swear to you that it'll never happen again! Please! I love you Sado! Please forgive me!"

"I want to believe you Mira," Sado sighed. "I really do. More than anything, I wish I could believe that it won't happen again."

"It won't!" Mira pleaded.

"I...I'm sorry, Mira," Sado sighed. "I can't. Maybe someday we can try again. But for now...I can't."

Mira covered her mouth, sinking to her knees and sobbing as Sado walked past her, carefully walking down the stairs as Erza walked upstairs, comforting her long-time friend. As she did, Natsu walked over to him, grinning from ear to ear.

"No," Sado said.

"You don't even know what I was going to ask," Natsu said.

"You want to go on an S class quest, and since I have a knack for convincing Makarov to let me break the rules, you thought I'd let you come with me."

"Wow, you _did_ know what I was going to say," Natsu said. "Not bad."

"The answer's no, Natsu," Sado said.

"Don't you at least want to know what quest I wanted?" Natsu asked.

"Fine," Sado groaned. "What?"

"Galuna Island," Natsu said.

"No," Sado said again, Natsu flopping forward, staring at him in irritation.

"Why?" Natsu asked.

"I don't mess with curses," Sado said. "They tend to be contagious."

"They might not even _be_ cursed," Natsu said. "It could be a weird type of magic."

"Natsu, annoying me won't get you on that quest," Sado said. "It's just going to make me try and fight you and lose humiliatingly, again."

"Sounds fair after our last match," Natsu said.

"You may have noticed that you _won_ our last match," Sado said. "Thank you, by the way. If you had let the fight drag on any longer, I would have...been out for blood."

"I know," Natsu said. "I was afraid you were for a second at the end."

"So was I," Sado said before sighing. "I'll see if I can get Makarov's permission. But we're not doing Galuna."

Natsu nodded, grinning, and Sado turned to the bar where Makarov was seated, drinking a beer. Sado grinned. Drunk was good. He walked over, Makarov smiling up at him.

"I'm glad you're feeling better," Makarov smiled.

"Much," Sado nodded. "But, I need to get away for a while, Master. I would like to request permission to undertake an S class mission."

"I can't let you do that alone," Makarov said.

"I'd like to take Natsu, Gray, and Lucy," Sado said. "That way, Natsu can keep me under control and Gray and Lucy are both good at strategizing when they really need to."

Makarov hummed in thought for a moment before nodding. "Alright, but not Galuna Island. You may do anything else."

Sado nodded, smiling. "Thank you Master."

Makarov nodded and Sado turned, walking away from him, nodding to Natsu. The two of them walked up the stairs to the second level, finding that Mira and Erza had left, and walked over to the board. Sado scanned through it and groaned. Aside from Galuna Island, there was a mission to take down an entire dark guild, a request to find a runaway Wyvern pack that were being held as pets, for some ungodly reason, and a request to fight a guild master, which would, in essence, be similar to fighting Makarov.

"Yup," Sado said. "Makarov's going to be mad." He ripped Galuna Island off the board and turned, walking back down the stairs with Natsu, Gray and Lucy meeting him at the bottom. "Not a single one of you are to say anything regarding what happened to me on this mission. Also, if any of the curse's effects begin to affect you, we're leaving the island, instantly. Understood?"

"Understood," all three said, Happy sitting on Natsu's shoulder quietly.

"You too, Happy," Sado said.

"Understood," Happy nodded.

Sado nodded and they left the guild hall, heading through the street to the train station and climbing on. A few minutes later, Natsu had a metal pale around his head and they were on their way to the port town of Hargeon.

* * *

Leave a review.


	5. Chapter 5

I do not own any of the original Fairy Tail characters.

* * *

Temple

Sado stared at the island as it grew closer. He had heard all the stories before, so he completely ignored their boat's owner, Bobo, as he told Gray and Lucy the story of the island's curse. All of the island's natives had one day started turning into demons. He was interested in Bobo's arm, however, as it was violet and looked like a cross between a skeleton's arm and an insect's leg. He turned back to the island, the others doing the same all of them staring at the top of the mountain, which was glowing.

"I've got a really bad feeling about this," Sado said. He looked back but Bobo was gone. "Oh joy."

He sighed, shaking his head before looking back at the island. After a moment, a dull roar began to reach his ears. He turned as the others announced what he saw.

"Tsunami!" Lucy shrieked.

Sado leapt into the air, spinning and launching an arc of fire out of his foot, the fire exploding against the wave, blasting it into mist. He landed back in the boat, sitting on the bottom with his back against a seat before holding his hands out, flames shooting out of them and launching them rapidly toward shore as a second Tsunami rose behind them, slowly gaining on them as it pulled the water below them away from the island. Finally, he let the flames end, grabbing the sides of the boat just as they crashed to shore, skidding through the sand for a dozen yards, skidding to a stop just short of the tree line.

Everyone sighed, slumping against the sides of the boat before climbing out, all lying on the ground, Sado staring out to sea, which was calm once again, the wave seemingly never having existed.

"Oh yeah, I hate this place," Sado said. "Let's sleep here for tonight. Tomorrow we'll see what we can find."

Lucy agreed and they all passed out.

* * *

Sado stared at the villagers in surprise. It had taken them literally all day to find the one village on the island, and almost as soon as they got into the village, the villagers had shed the cloaks they were wearing to reveal that each one had some form of demon body part, whether it was their arm, their leg, horns, a beak. You name it.

"For hundreds of years, this island has absorbed the light of the moon, causing it to glow with immeasurable beauty," the village chief explained. "However, recently, the moon has begun to change color, and cast an evil light on us. Then, we all gained some form of disfigurement."

"The moon turned purple huh?" Sado said, looking up at it as it came out from behind the clouds. Sure enough, it shone with violet light. "That definitely not normal."

"Step back, the change is coming," the village chief warned, Sado looking back at the villagers just as they all doubled over, shouting in pain as their demon body parts spread, covering their entire bodies.

Sado stared at them. Each looked completely different from the others, including a mother and her child. But they were definitely _not_ humans.

"You see," the village chief said. "Every night, when the moon comes out, everyone here takes on a horrific demon form."

"No way," Natsu said. "You guys look so cool!"

Sado sighed, resting his face in his hand.

"We look cool?" one of the villagers whispered.

"No one's ever said that to us," another said.

"Natsu, they don't want to look like this," Sado said. "This is what we're here to fix."

"Oh," Natsu said. "Well then, I suppose we need to figure out what's making the moon purple."

"Yeah," Sado said. "That. I definitely feel evil magic at work here. And I think I know where we should start."

"Please, you must hurry," the chief said. "There are some that could not return to their human forms, for they were in the grip of madness. The fate for those, is death. We had no choice. We tried to restrain them but they broke free. There was no way to save them. I should know. I was forced to kill my own son."

He held out a photo of his son, Bobo, the boat owner. Sado stared at it, then up at the moon.

"There's only one way this curse can be broken," the chief said. "The moon. The moon must be destroyed."

Sado nodded slowly. "Maybe. Then again, I'm not really the type to be into massive collateral damage like that, at least, not when I'm calm like this."

"Um, Sado, are you sure you're calm?" Natsu asked.

"Yeah why?" Sado asked.

"Your elbows are on fire," Natsu said.

Sado looked down at his elbows and stared at the small flames extending from the backs of his elbows about six inches. He cocked his head to the side. "So they are. Why are they on fire, though?"

"Maybe you're being affected by the curse," Gray suggested.

"Yeah," Sado said. "The curse. Chief, do you mind if we stay in one of your huts for the night, then set out once the moon sets tomorrow?"

"By all means," the chief nodded. "The house to the left of the gate is empty. But, where are you going?"

"Destroying the moon may not be necessary," Sado said. "If it's not, we'd like to avoid it."

The chief nodded. "Stay out of the moonlight as much as you can. Perhaps you'll be able to escape the curse if you do."

Sado thanked him again as they all headed to the empty house.

"I never knew the moon could be so creepy," Happy said, standing in the windowsill, staring up at the moon.

"Hey close the window!" Lucy said. "Didn't you hear what the chief said? We have to stay out of the moonlight!"

"Close it happy," Sado said, staring at his now non-flaming elbows. "At least until we know it's safe."

Happy nodded, closing the door as Sado hummed thoughtfully.

"What do we do?" Lucy asked.

"For now, we sleep," Sado said. "In the morning, we're going to head to the mountain top. I suspect whatever's causing this has something to do with that light."

Lucy nodded as both Natsu and Gray, who was now wearing only his boxers, dropped onto their bedding, passing out instantly as Lucy lay between them only for them to begin to snore. Sado sat against the wall, holding his hand out as flames sprang to life in his palm. He stared into them, thinking, unaware that, miles away, Mirajane was staring into the flames of her necklace, both of them thinking of the other. Finally, Sado let the flames in his hand go out and set his head against his knee, the other leg out straight in front of him. In seconds he had passed out as well.

* * *

Sado chuckled as they walked along the trail. Earlier, Gray and Natsu had been complaining about being awake and Lucy had been ready to go. Then, she had summoned a walking grandfather clock spirit and climbed in. Now, she was curled up inside the clock and they were all walking up the mountain. Her reasoning was simple. She was afraid.

"You know, if you're really that scared, you can always just stay in the house until we finish the quest," Sado said, grinning just as the ground began to tremble in the rhythm of footsteps. Sado stopped, looking around, narrowing his eyes. Then, they looked back, staring up a a gigantic rat wearing a maid costume that towered over the trees. Sado cocked his head to the side.

"Is that...one of the townspeople?" Sado asked.

"What are you doing, beat it up already, she yells frightenedly," the clock narrated, since they couldn't hear her.

Gray acted first, forming a spiked ice shield on the ground only for the rat to exhale a cloud of noxious smoke. Sado gagged, plugging his nose just as Lucy's clock exploded into smoke, leaving her exposed to the gas as well.

"Breath mints," Sado said, punching and setting the rat's shoulder on fire.

It turned, running around in fear, one forepaw patting the fire to put it out. Once it had finished, it turned, charging at them on all fours.

"Yup, time to go!" Sado said, all of them turning and running away.

After several minutes, and being hit with several more clouds of the rat's bad breath, Gray finally turned, covering the ground with ice, the rat slipping and crashing down on its head, knocking itself out. Sado sighed, turning and forming a fireball, only to stop as he glanced to the side, seeing a temple with a crescent moon design on the front.

"Gray, Natsu," Sado said. "You see that?"

They both looked and nodded.

"It's some kind of temple," Gray said.

"And it's got a moon on it," Natsu added. "Maybe it's got something to do with the curse."

They waked toward it, exiting the trees and Sado saw that it was dug into the side of the mountain. He hummed thoughtfully as they walked toward it.

"You've been thinking awful hard since we got here," Natsu said. "You're usually not such a thinker. You're probably not even thinking about the quest are you?"

"Partially," Sado said. "It's an S class quest, so I have to think about it carefully. It's not S class accidentally. But you're right. I'm thinking about something else entirely. At a glance, I know that This temple runs under the top of the mountain, and probably a lot deeper. There's probably a mage cult here, so the curse is probably either a spell, or the side effects of one. The one thing that doesn't explain, is the evil magic I sense."

"Agreed," Natsu nodded. "I can feel it too. It makes my skin crawl."

Sado nodded. He felt the same. He was on edge, and his the hair on his arms, legs, and the back of his neck were standing on end. They walked into the temple, looking around and spreading out through the room.

"Man this temple looks ancient," Gray said.

"Yeah, this floor doesn't even look safe to walk on," Natsu said, stomping on it.

"Well don't go stomping on it you idiot!" Lucy shouted.

Then, the floor shattered, all four of them falling to the bottom of a pit. Sado groaned, rolling over and staring down a dark tunnel, his skin feeling like someone was dragging ice cubes over it.

"Here's a thought, maybe if you thought before you acted, you wouldn't cause so much trouble!" Gray shouted at Natsu.

"We're close," Sado said, standing and walking down the hallway, the others following after a moment.

He lit a fireball in his hand for light, but as he reached the end of the tunnel, the fireball went out, Sado staring up at the object before him. There was a massive glacier taking up the center of the room, and trapped inside, was a gigantic demon, easily standing taller than any of the buildings in Magnolia.

"What...is that?" Sado asked.

"That's...Deliora!" Gray gaped. "But, that's impossible! What's it doing here!?"

"What's Deliora?" Natsu asked.

"The Demon of Destruction," Sado said. "I recognize the name. It's from the Book of Zeref. But, Gray, you've seen this thing before?"

"It destroyed my home," Gray said. "My Master sacrificed her life in order to freeze it in this unbreakable glacier."

"Unbreakable?" Sado asked, looking above the glacier, to where there was a hole, exposing the glacier to moonlight. "Nothing's unbreakable."

Just then, they heard footsteps from down the tunnel behind them and hid behind several rocks as a short man with blue hair and green clothes, and another taller man that looked like a dog-human hybrid walked out of the tunnel, bickering about the dog-man's appearance and something called a moon drip. Then, another mage, this one a girl with a short black dress with pink up the front, black stockings and shoes, and red hair in a pair of pigtails, arrived.

"Yuka, Tobi," she said. "Something terrible has happened."

"What now Sherry?" the shorter one asked.

"It's Angelica," Sherry said. "She's been attacked and I'm sad."

"You're moping around because someone beat up your stupid pet rat!?" the dog-man, Tobi, shouted.

"She's not a rat," Angelica said. "She's a brave hunter, prowling the jungle to protect us. She is, love."

Sado rested his face against the rock. He knew he should have just torched the rat.

"Intruders you say?" the short one, Yuka, asked.

"It's almost time to begin collecting moonlight again," Sherry said. "This news makes me so sad. It would displease the Cold Emperor. We should get rid of them before he finds out. Yes. We must find them before the moon's first light."

"Agreed," Yuka said.

"So now that they've seen Deliora we can't allow them to live," Sherry said, Sado's head instantly snapping up. "We'll give them the gift of eternal rest. We'll give them love."

"You're talking about death right?" Tobi asked, just as several stones fell to the ground down the tunnel, the three wizards taking off to find the source, Happy flying back over to them.

"Nice job cat," Lucy said.

"Thanks," Happy said.

"Cold Emperor," Sado said. "Sounds like someone with Ice Magic thinks they're hot shit. Alright. So, Deliora isn't causing the curse. But, maybe this moon drip is. Collecting moonlight would require a lot of magic. And something to focus the light into a solid form."

"Like a lense?" Lucy asked.

"Sort of," Sado said. "That would be a powerful amount of magic. Maybe even enough to wake Deliora. Okay. We need to tread carefully here. We'll wait here until nightfall. Hopefully no one finds us, but if they do we'll handle it. Once the moon rises, we'll head up to the top of the temple and catch whoever's collecting the moonlight. You three handle them. Let me worry about our three wizard friends from earlier. Something tells me they're the strongest in the cult. Obviously excluding the Cold Emperor."

"Okay," Lucy nodded.

"What about the Cold Emperor himself?" Gray asked.

"I'm leaving him to you and Natsu," Sado said, assuming you're present when we find him. "If not, I'll deal with him and you two stop Deliora from returning."

Gray nodded and Sado looked up at Deliora again, eyes narrowing. If it broke free, it would be very bad for them. He'd have to go all out just to stand a chance. He sighed, sitting down and forming a flame in his hands, staring at it in silence. It was only mid afternoon, so it was going to be a very long wait.

* * *

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	6. Chapter 6

I do not own any of the original Fairy Tail characters.

* * *

In The Moonlight

Sado watched the spell circles in silence. Four stacked on top of one another, violet magic energy streaming from above them, directed down through them and then into the temple, no doubt directly into Deliora. Off to the side, the three wizards from earlier, plus one wearing a helmet with a mask covering the top half of his face, horns, and purple faux hair in a ponytail, a white cape, and a blue jacket and pants under it all watched the moonlight being collected. That had to be the Cold Emperor.

"Cold Emperor, I have some sad news for you," Sherry said, stepping up behind him. "We thought we had some intruders during the day but they got away. I cannot speak of love in this situation."

"Has Deliora awoken yet?" the Cold Emperor asked.

"It should be later tonight or tomorrow," Sherry said.

"Which one girl?" Tobi shouted.

"The time has almost come," the Cold Emperor said. "If you see the intruders again, kill them. I don't want anyone getting in my way."

"It must have been villagers," Sherry said. "They're the only other people on this island."

"Then destroy the village," the Cold Emperor said.

"Understood," Sherry nodded.

"Yes sir," Yuka agreed.

Sado stepped out of the bushes, fire springing to life on his elbows, then growing as he approached the spell circles, his entire body covered in it. He inspected the flames interestedly for a moment before swinging an arm at the spell circles, flames shooting away from him. When the flames met a circle, they exploded and the circle shattered like glass, a concussion like an explosion going off and throwing the cultists around the circles away from it, knocking them all out. The four more powerful wizards turned toward him, all staring at him silently.

"Sorry about that," Sado said. "But I think I prefer Deliora frozen in a glacier as opposed to roaming around killing everyone."

"And just who the hell, or rather what the hell, are you," Yuka asked.

"My name's Sado. I'm with Fairy Tail. And I'm going to burn all of you to ash."

"Tobi, get him," Yuka said.

"No," the Cold Emperor said. "I can handle this on my own."

"Yes Cold Emperor," Yuka bowed.

Suddenly, Gray appeared beside Sado, slamming his hands into the ground, sending out a trail of ice spikes. Their opponents leapt away from them, the Cold Emperor forming a greenish blue spell circle in front of one hand before landing and slamming it to the ground, ice spikes of his own shooting out to meet Gray's, both sets growing upward for a moment before stopping. Of the two, Gray's spikes were bigger around, while the Cold Emperor's were thinner and there were more of them. After a moment, both shattered.

"Lyon," Gray snarled.

"Ah Gray, to think that you would be one of the wizards called here," Lyon smirked. "Did you come to this island knowing you would find me, or is this merely a coincidence? Ah well. It doesn't matter either way."

"Friend of your Gray?" Sado asked.

"He and I studied under the same master as children," Gray snarled.

"Go and destroy the village," Lyon ordered. "I can handle these intruders myself."

"I don't think so," Sado snarled, charging after the three of them as they fled toward the village, Natsu taking his place as Gray's side.

Sado sprinted through the trees, the flames on his body going out as he left the mountaintop behind. Finally, he reached a clearing, jumping into the air and launching himself forward with flames, flipping and landing in front of the three, all of whom stopped.

"He's quick," Yuka said. "Looks like we have to deal with him first."

"If you think you can, then go ahead and try," Sado growled.

"I'll go first," Tobi said, his fingernails turning green and growing into claws. "Don't worry. I'll get him with my Poison Jellyfish Paralyzing Claws."

"I see," Sado said. "Hey, you're bleeding right here." He pointed to his forehead and Tobi reached up to check, pricking himself with his claws.

Electricity shot over Tobi's body instantly, lasting for about a second before he fell backward, groaning.

"Idiot," Sado snorted.

"What a fool," Yuka sighed. "I'll handle this. Wave!"

A blast of blue-tinted energy shot toward Sado, who threw a punch, his flames dispersing against the wave. It crashed into him, blasting him into a tree. He groaned, standing but grinning.

"Impressive anti-wizard magic," Sado said. "So, no magic works inside the wave, huh? Alright. Try this!"

He sprinted forward, Yuka firing several blasts at him, Sado dodging them all before launching a stream of flame at Yuka. Yuka held his hand out, a barrier forming and blocking the flames. Just as the flames cleared, Sado stepped into the barrier. Flames burst to life over his body instantly, Yuka's eyes shooting wide open.

"That's impossible!" Yuka shouted. "No spells should work inside the barrier!"

"You're right!" Sado snarled, voice much deeper than before. "You've successfully negated my suppressor spell! Now die!"

He slashed, Yuka leaping away just seconds before the flaming claws encasing Sado's hands tore him in half, instead tearing four deep gashes into his chest. As soon as the barrier faded, the flames went out and Sado sighed, cracking his neck.

"That's much better," Sado said. "And thank you for falling into my trap."

"Your what?" Yuka growled.

Then, the ground below him exploded, a massive stream of flames shooting out of it and throwing Yuka away, half of his body burned badly. Sado turned to Sherry.

"Last one," Sado said. "Can you handle me?"

"I'll destroy you," Sherry said. "With-"

"I swear to God if I hear you say the word love even one time, I'll tear you limb from limb," Sado warned. "And you've seen what I can really do. You know I'll do it."

Sherry nodded, readying herself. She raised her hands, a tearing rumbling sound coming from behind Sado. "If I can't defeat you, the Cold Emperor won't be able to trust me. He won't love me anymore. Oh, sorry."

"It's fine," Sado said, turning and staring at the tree scrambling toward him on its roots, an angry face now taking up its trunk and its branches curling into fists. "Marionette attack magic, right? Not bad."

He punched at the tree, a fireball shooting out and exploding against it. More rumbling came from behind him and he turned, seeing a massive humanoid made of stone, with a low wall around the top of its head for Sherry to stand in. The statue threw a punch and Sado flipped over it, leaping at it as flames shot out of his hand. Then, he slammed his fist into the golem, the flames exploding and blasting it into rubble. Sherry fell but Sado caught her, flipping and landing on the ground, setting her on her feet.

"Why...why would you catch me?" Sherry asked.

"Not really sure," Sado shrugged, turning and walking away. "I suppose it was instinct."

"I see," Sherry said. "Get him Angelica."

"Oh no," Sado said, flames shooting out of his hands. "Not dealing with this thing again. Sorry about this Sherry."

At the same moment that the giant rat stepped out of the trees, Sado slammed his hands into the ground, fire shooting along it, melting it into magma. Angelica fell in, screaming in pain as she burned. Finally, flames shot out from under her, launching her back out where she crashed down off to the side, Sherry screaming in fear, running over to her.

"She'll heal," Sado said. "But she won't be walking for a long time."

He walked over to Sherry, who turned toward him, holding her arms out protectively. Then, he slammed his hand into the side of her neck, Sherry dropping instantly. He turned to Angelica, patting her on the side.

"Sorry about that Angelica," Sado said. "I gotta go. My friends need me."

He turned, walking away from Sherry and Angelica before jumping, flames shooting out of his hands and feet and propelling him back toward the mountain top.

* * *

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	7. Chapter 7

I do not own any of the original Fairy Tail characters.

* * *

Resurrection

Sado landed at the top of the mountain just as Gray crashed tot he ground, unconscious. Lyon grinned, turning to Sado.

"You're late," Lyon smirked. "Did my lackeys give you more trouble than you expected?"

"Actually, they were all rather depressingly boring," Sado said. "Especially Tobi. I had high hopes for him. At the very least enough to not have been able to to be tricked into scratching himself with his own paralysis claws."

"Yes, Tobi was never exceptionally smart," Lyon said. "He has his moments, though."

"Don't we all," Sado sighed. "Anyway, As much as I'd love to simply kill you and be done with it, I'll just settle for taking Gray and going. With all of your cultists weakened as they are, you won't be reviving anything tonight."

Lyon smirked, shaking his head. "You're a fire mage. Which means, I have the advantage."

He held an arm out, a spell circle forming and firing a dragon made of ice. Sado inhaled, then blew a stream of flames at the dragon, melting it into water instantly, the flames continuing at Lyon. Lyon raised a hand, a shield of hexagonal ice blocks forming in front of him, only for the flames to blast straight through, Lyon leaping out of the way. Sado walked to Gray and knelt, lifting him onto his shoulder.

"You should have payed attention when you were being taught Ice Make magic," Sado said. "One handed Ice Make spells are incomplete and unstable, as I'm sure Gray pointed out. It's possible, but not without dozens of years of training. Without both hands, you'll never stand a chance against me, no matter how fast you can create things in comparison to Gray. I'll simply break anything you create."

Several ice birds streaked toward him only for Sado to stomp, flames shooting out of the ground at his foot, blasting them into pieces. Then, Sado turned, walking away from Lyon, who simply watched him go, irritation written all over his face.

* * *

Sado sighed, leaning against the wall as Erza berated him for disobeying Makarov. She had arrived early in the morning, dragging a hogtied Lucy and Happy with her. Then, she had tied up Natsu as well, as Sado had found Natsu on the way back, body covered in a massive ball of Lyon's ice that then shattered when they reached the village.

"Well?" Erza finally said. "Do you have anything to say for yourself?"

"Did you read the quests left on the board?" Sado asked.

Erza nodded.

"Galuna was the safest one, and since I had agreed to bring Natsu and Gray with me, and Lucy tagged along to hang out with Natsu-"

"That is so not true!" Lucy snapped.

"-I decided that we needed to deal with the safest one first," Sado finished. "As it turns out, it's a good thing I chose this one because Deliora, one of the strongest demons from the Book of Zeref, is going to be released tonight unless we stop him."

"We already fought Lullaby," Erza said. "He wasn't that strong."

"Are you kidding me?" Sado asked. "Lullaby was a possessed flute. Deliora is the Demon of Destruction. And for a reason. The dragons once fought him and lost."

"So you're saying that its dangerous?" Erza asked.

"Let me put it this way," Sado sighed. "If all of Fairy Tail were to fight Deliora at full strength, Makarov _might_ survive. Maybe. Deliora would wipe Fairy Tail out. And would probably walk away afterward."

"So what, I should help you finish the mission, then turn you in to Makarov?" Erza asked.

"No," Sado said. "You should sit back and let us finish our own mission. Then I'll turn myself in to Makarov, as I planned to do anyway."

"And what about the reward money?" Erza asked.

"Half of it will be going to Lucy for her rent, the other half will be split up between me, Natsu, and Gray. And I'll share my portion with you, if you want. I really don't need the money."

"Judging by the necklace you gave Mirajane, you're right," Erza said, seeing Sado flinch. "Sorry. Fine. I'll help you finish the mission."

Sado nodded, pushing off the wall. "Good. Natsu, let's go destroy the temple."

"Why?" Natsu asked.

"If there's no temple, they'll have to dig out Deliora to free him," Sado said. "Which will give us plenty of time to deal with Lyon."

"Right," Natsu nodded as Gray stirred and sat up.

"Perfect timing," Sado said, holding out a small pink orb. "Break this then swallow it. Porlyusica left me a couple of them after my last checkup."

He accepted one and stuck it in his mouth, biting down then swallowing, gagging almost instantly.

"Oh yeah, by the way, it tastes awful," Sado said.

"Thanks for the warning," Gray grumbled, standing and pulling his bandages off, inspecting his new scars. "Effective."

"Natsu, let's go," Sado said, untying him and walking away, Natsu following while Lucy and Erza filled Gray in.

* * *

Sado and Natsu stood beside each other, cracking their knuckles and grinning.

"Remember, nothing behind us, and everything in front of us," Sado said. "Then, I'll collapse the rest myself."

Natsu nodded and flames began to shoot out of their hands. "Fire Dragon Wing Attack!"

Natsu shouted, sprinting forward and whipping his hands in a circle then forward, twin streams of flame shooting out and blasting through several support pillars. Sado shot forward, flames rolling off of his hands before he swung his arms forward, a massive wall of flames shooting past him, filling in in front of him and exploding through pillar after pillar before finally going out. Then, as Natsu began to run from pillar to pillar on his side, Sado slammed his hands into the ground, the ground below his hands and spreading outward turning to magma, the support pillars beginning to melt as they sank into it.

"Natsu, get behind me!" Sado warned.

Natsu leapt back, landing behind him just as Sado swung his arms up, magma following, then back down. Instantly, a massive wave of magma began to shoot across the floor, taking out a dozen pillars, the temple finally beginning to break up and tilt. Finally it stopped, almost at a forty five degree angle rom before as Sado stood, allowing the magma to begin cooling.

"Impressive," Natsu said.

He fired a stream of flame upward and after a second, Lyon, Tobi, and one other person who was wearing a red mask with green hair around it appeared in the hole several floors up.

"Natsu, get him," Sado said. "Carefully. I'm going to go and bury Deliora in his cave."

Natsu nodded, flames shooting out of his feet and launching him up into Lyon's stomach, only for Lyon to shatter. As he did, Sado turned, sprinting to the hole Natsu had made during their first visit and dropped into it, slowing his fall with flames. As he walked, his mind began to wander. In this case, to Gray's story of his past. He felt bad. Seeing Lyon must be having an effect on Gray. Guilt must be eating away at him by now. After all, Gray got their master killed. Well, not killed, exactly. Turned into a glacier would be more accurate. Sado stared up at the ice surrounding Deliora. Ten years, if Sado remembered correctly. Ten years, trapped as a gigantic block of ice in order to hold one of the most powerful demons ever to live. Sado sighed, cursing his luck at only being able to wield fire magic. If only he had a way to turn back time. Maybe he would be able to give Gray back his master. Instead, all he could do was burn things. He couldn't directly protect. Hell, if he didn't have a spell to suppress his own power, he wouldn't even indirectly protect. He'd just burn anything and everything around him. Indiscriminate destruction and death. That was the essence of fire. A living inanimate object. One that grew, ate, breathed, and then grew more. A source of infinite destructive capability. Use too much at one time and you got an explosion. Use a little bit, and it would grow out of control. Unless it was killed before it could. To truly control fire took training, practice, and patience. Sado would give all four limbs to be able to use Ice Make magic. To be able to create, and to protect using his magic, rather than protect by destroying. That would be amazing.

"You look like you're in a bit of a bad mood," a voice said from above him on the left, Sado turning to see the man in the mask. "I could come back later if you like."

"I don't think I know you," Sado said. "What's your name?"

"Zalty," the man smirked. "You're Sado, right? You're the Fairy Tail Guild's very own Phoenix? I must say, your power is quite astounding. Dangerous, even. Just not for me."

He grinned, a massive white spell circle forming above him as the ground began to rumble. Sado's eyes widened as he looked up, seeing the temple above them moving, righting itself. Once it was finished, the spell circle faded and Zalty sighed, grinning.

"What kind of magic was that?" Sado asked.

"You first," Zalty said. "I've never met a wizard who didn't require a spell circle to cast spells, yet you fling fire around as though you were made of it. Even the Salamander, who was trained by a dragon, requires spell circles for his attacks, and he might as well be made of fire. So what makes you different?"

"Alright, an answer for an answer," Sado offered, Zalty nodding. "I'm not a normal wizard."

"What kind of answer is that?" Zalty asked. "That doesn't answer anything."

"It does, though," Sado said. "My magic doesn't need spell circles because it's not actually a spell. It's just fire, fed by magic energy."

"That makes no sense," Zalty said. "That's called magic, and it requires spell circles."

"For you, maybe," Sado shrugged. "Now, tell me what magic you wield."

"Very well," Zalty nodded, pulling an orb out of his cloak just as violet light began to shine on Deliora. "If you must know, I practice one of the lost magics. In other words-"

"Yeah yeah, I know what lost magics are," Sado interrupted. "It's so powerful and dangerous that its existence was wiped from history. But which lost magic do you wield? If I remember correctly, there are twenty four that could have been used to do what you did. Twenty five if I count Earth Dragon Slayer Magic and the user is incredibly creative and careful. So, which is yours?"

"You have studied the lost magics?" Zalty asked.

"It wasn't easy, but yes," Sado said. "I wanted to find a type of magic that I could use that wasn't as destructive as mine. One that I could use to protect, rather than destroy. But try as I might, there was never any type of magic I could actually use, including any of the lost magics that I was able to learn about. Well, actually, there was one. Fire Make Magic. But I didn't see the point in learning to use a purely destructive form of Make Magic that was only able to do the exact same thing as the Fire Magic I already possessed. Do you?"

"That would be pointless," Zalty agreed. "However, I once met a man that was able to wield Fire Make Magic defensively quite well."

"Defensively, flames could be made into a wall around whatever you want to protect, although that would also cause the thing you're protecting to slowly cook from the flames," Sado said. "Aside from me and Natsu, I doubt there are many people out there stupid enough to stick their hands in a fire, so close range it could technically be considered defense. Additionally, the flames would obscure an attacker's view, whether directly or by creating heat waves to do so. This would make mid to long range spells less effective, leaving area-of-effect spells as the best option. But even with that, it's not really defense. It's just burning anything that gets too close."

"This is all true," Zalty nodded, tossing the orb between his hands. "However, as true as that is, that's not what I meant. Using Fire Make Magic, he was able to create solid constructs, effectively wielding fire the same way your friend Gray Fullbuster wields his Ice Make Magic."

"I see," Sado nodded. "I would guess that man is dead now, correct?"

"He is," Zalty nodded.

"I see," Sado nodded. "Then this conversation is pointless. So, tell me, what exactly _is_ your lost magic?"

Zalty looked up at the glacier, and at the rivulets of water running down it. He grinned and nodded.

"Okay, sure," he smirked. "I'll tell you. My magic is called the Arc of Time."

"Oh I see," Sado nodded. "That will be a pain. Being able to turn back the time on any inanimate object, but not to effect the living. That's too bad. If only that one fatal flaw wasn't a part of it."

"Oh, and why that one flaw?" Zalty asked.

"Because," Sado said. "Eleven years ago I wouldn't be in any position to do this."

He set his hands down, flames exploding up from below Zalty. He escaped, however, by having his orb slam into his side and throw him, however the orb was melted into goo. As Sado watched, the orb began to reform. Sado's eyes flicked to the glacier, then back.

"So, you're turning back the time on that orb. I see, well, I'll just have to keep breaking it until it runs out of time!"

"You fool," Zalty snorted. "This orb is twelve years old, and I can reverse time to a mere second before you broke it, at which point its time will continue until broken again."

"Twelve years old, huh?" Sado smirked. "Must be getting pretty brittle, then. Orbs like that are only good for about that long, then they get too brittle to be useful. It was made for scrying right? Scrying's awful hard on those things."

"I know what you're trying to do," Zalty said. "You want me to reverse its time to twelve years ago, making it that much easier for you to break it."

"I wonder what would happen if you had something covered in that orb and reversed its time," Sado said. "Would anything inside of it be reversed? Or would the orb simply fix itself beside the thing."

"Quite an interesting idea," Zalty said. "But for now, let's have some fun."

He sent the orb flying at Sado, who smashed it. It reformed and he smashed it again. It reformed again and he smashed it again. Zalty growled in annoyance, beginning to reform it only for Sado to form a fireball around the fragments. Zalty shouted in pain, the fragments splattering to the ground as goo while Zalty stared at his hands.

"Hey, look at that," Sado said. "Looks like your spell has a little bite to it."

"Why you," Zalty snarled. "Fine, let's test your theory. Eleven years was it? Fine. Try this!"

Zalty swung his hand toward Sado, who leapt onto the side of the glacier. The orb's goo flew at him and he dove aside, the goo splattering onto the glacier. Then, they began to glow violet as they absorbed the moon drip's energy. Zalty shouted in annoyance.

Then, the orb began to reform. And they glacier began to reform. Zalty's eyes widened and so did Sado's.

"Unbelievable," Zalty gaped. "The moon drip is strengthening the Arc of Time's power! It's actually affecting the glacier!"

"Want to see what Deliora was like ten years ago?" Sado asked, grinning at Zalty. "I've never fought a real life Demon of Destruction before."

Zalty grinned wickedly. "You're a clever one. If I reverse time enough to free Deliora, Ur will be returned to life. But if I don't, Deliora's resurrection may actually be stopped by Titania and the blonde who are on their way to the mountaintop."

"And as it stands now, you've restored enough of the glacier to require a few more days before the glacier's gone, so you've really only got one choice. It's future as of now is to not melt. So, shall we greet Ur and Deliora together?"

"Very well," Zalty grinned, the glacier beginning to shine violet as it grew. "Come on out Deliora!"

Suddenly, the violet energy was replaced by blinding white energy just as Gray and Natsu sprinted into the room, staring.

"What are you doing!?" Gray shouted.

"Relax," Sado said. "I've got a plan."

Then, the glacier began to turn into streams of Ice Magic, flowing away from Deliora and regroup on a chunk of stone, forming into a human silhouette. The glacier continued to break up until a woman stood before them, bare of any clothing and frozen in time. Then, the orb, which was on the woman's shoulder, reformed beside her, crashing into her side and cancelling her spell as it launched her into the water.

"I don't believe it," Natsu gaped. "Is that..."

"Ur!" Gray shouted, sprinting toward her as Deliora roared.

The sound was deafening, the room beginning to shake as its eyes lit up green. Sado smirked. It still had cracks and wrinkled patches on its body. Its time hadn't changed, and the moon drip had ended.

"Yes!" Zalty shouted. "It worked! Deliora is free!"

"No," Sado said. "Deliora is dead."

Zalty looked at him as he launched a single fire ball, the attack slamming into Deliora's chest and exploding, massive cracks shooting across Deliora's body as its own magical energy tore it apart. Then, the entire thing crumbled like a shattered stone, the water in room flooding outward, nearly washing Gray and Ur away as it did, Natsu grabbing Gray's arm to hold him in place as the excess water vented out through a tunnel nearby leading to several irrigation channels in the floor of the next room.

"That's...impossible," Gray said, staring at the spot Deliora had been a moment before.

"Deliora..." Zalty breathed.

"...was already dead," a voice finished from off to the side, everyone turning to see Lyon lying on the ground, also staring at where Deliora should have been. "Ur _did_ kill it."

"It took ten years," Sado said. "But while it was trapped in that ice, she was still fighting it, still sapping its strength. And now, Deliora is gone."

"How did you know?" Gray asked.

Sado stared at him for a moment before grinning sheepishly. "Uh...instinct?"

"You didn't know, did you?" Gray asked.

"Um, is Ur okay?"

Gray's eyes widened and he hurriedly pulled Ur out of the water, Natsu grabbing Lyon's cape off of his shoulders to cover her as Lyon simply stared at her in disbelief.

"Ur," Lyon breathed. "But...how?"

"The moon drip altered the way my magic worked," Zalty said, walking over. "Because of the moon drip's power, I was able to reverse time on Ur's Iced Shell, returning life to Ur."

Suddenly, Zalty sprang into motion, drawing a knife and leaping at Ur, moving too fast for Sado, Natsu, or Gray to react. As he plunged the knife downward, however, Lyon stepped into the way, having seen the strike coming. The knife plunged into his back, hilt deep, and Lyon coughed up blood, falling to his knees. Sado grabbed Zalty by the throat, flames shooting out of that hand instantly, Zalty screaming in agony as he burned. Then, he turned, hurling Zalty into the water. Zalty rose out of it, badly burned and barely conscious, struggling to breathe as his throat swelled.

"Lyon!" Gray said. "Hang in there!"

"He's...done for," Zalty croaked.

"Then you had better leave," Sado said. "If he dies, you die."

Zalty growled in annoyance before setting his hand down on the surface of the water, a spell circle forming before a disk of stone rose from below, flying out of the room with him. Sado turned back to Lyon and gently sat him up, staring at the knife wound.

"It hit his right lung," Sado said, leaning Lyon to the side. "As long as we don't remove the knife and it doesn't shift too much, we should be able to save him. Right now, it's acting as a dam for the blood and air that would otherwise be escaping through the wound."

Natsu sniffed the wound, then sighed. "No poison. Looks like Zalty didn't expect us to be able to save her."

"He probably never expected to have to stab her," Sado said. "That was more personal toward Ur than just trying to kill his enemy. I wonder who he was."

"We need to go," Gray said. "I'll carry Lyon."

"I've got Ur," Said said, gently lifting her, making sure that the cape remained covering her. "Natsu, find Erza and Lucy. Tell them that we need to get medical help for Lyon."

"Where are we gonna find someone to do that?" Natsu asked.

"I can save him myself once we're back to the village," Sado said. "But we need to hurry back, so go."

Natsu nodded and Sado and Gray hurried out of the temple then through the jungle. They were slower than Sado had hoped. It took them a half hour to reach the village, by which time Lyon had begun wheezing. Sado gently set Ur on the ground, asking a couple of the villagers to find her something to wear while others brought torches over for light while Gray gently set Lyon down with the wounded shoulder on the ground. Sado gently pressed on Lyon's chest on the right side, Lyon groaning, face contorting in pain, but he remained unconscious.

"What are you doing?" Gray asked.

"The blade looked about, what, seven, eight inches?" Sado asked, not taking his eyes off of Lyon.

"I don't know, I was paying more attention to the fact that it was headed for Ur," Gray said. "And that it stabbed Lyon."

"Fair enough," Sado nodded, gently rolling Lyon onto his stomach, turning his head so he could breathe. "Hold him down."

Gray formed ice over most of Lyon's body, leaving his head, neck, and around the wound uncovered. Then, Sado raised his right hand, flattening it as lames formed out of his finger tips into a nine inch blade, roughly the size of the knife blade. He took a breath then ripped the knife out of Lyon's back, shoving his flames into it. Lyon screamed in utter agony instantly, Gray flinching and staring, wide-eyed at Sado. Sado held his hand motionless, the flame blade shrinking, cauterizing the wound closed as it went. Then, finally, it finished and Sado sighed, staring at the scar it had left. He had cauterized a little more than the blade was long in case he was wrong about the length of the blade. Most of the damage would heal itself when they took him to Porlyusica, but Lyon would now have permanently reduced functionality of his right lung. For the moment, probably as much as twenty percent. Once the swelling went down, maybe ten percent. Hopefully Porlyusica could do more for him.

"What's going on?" Erza demanded, walking over with Lucy and Natsu. "Why is Natsu babbling about zombies and Gray's master? And who's she?"

"She's Ur," Sado said. "Gray and Lyon's dead master. She's not a zombie, though, Natsu. It's a little complicated, but the moon drip's energy affected one of our enemies' magic, making it reverse time for the glacier Ur had turned into. When it did, it restored Ur to life. She should wake up in a little while."

"Okay, now what was with the screaming?" Erza asked.

"Lyon got stabbed," Sado said. "I had to cauterize the wound. He needs to go to Porlyusica, though."

Erza nodded and they looked up at the purple moon hanging above their heads, then around at the still mutated villagers just as a pair of women brought out some clothes that should be close to Ur's size.

"What do we do about them?" Erza asked. "I thought Gray and Lucy said that Deliora was causing the curse."

"No," Sado said. "The moon drip was causing it. The moon drip released a cloud of dark energy, that then crystalized into an invisible membrane over the island. The membrane made the moon appear purple, and helped to focus the energy of the moon drip. All I have to do, is break that membrane."

"Allow me to help," Erza said, light appearing over her, leaving her in a suit of golden armor, with a spear in her hands.

"Giant armor, huh?" Sado asked. "Sure. Alright, tell me when."

He took a stance behind Erza, foot cocked back, ready to kick. Erza pulled the spear back, a spell circle appearing beside her arm as it glowed.

"Now!" Erza shouted, beginning to throw it.

Flames exploded out of the back of Sado's heel as the spear began to move. Then, his foot crashed into the back of it and it shot away from them, flames shooting out of a pair of tubes just below the spear head. It shot through the air in a blurred streak before slamming into the membrane, cracking it. The cracks spread further and further before finally it shattered, the broken pieces fading as the rest began to crumble. The spear landed in front of them and Erza picked it up, both it and the armor vanishing, leaving her in her usual suit of armor. Behind them, the villagers all began to glow before the light faded, leaving them exactly as they were.

"Wait, I don't understand," Gray said. "Why aren't they turning back to normal?"

"They are," Sado said. "Galuna Island is special, not just because it absorbs the light of the moon. It's special because it's the home of a tribe of peace-loving demons that possess the ability to take the form of humans."

"They what?" Gray gaped, all of the other members of Fairy Tail, except Erza, staring at him in shock.

"The only thing effected by the moon drip was their memories," Sado said. "It was probably subtle at first, but after three years, they totally forgot who they were, and thought that they were humans who were cursed. Right, Bobo?"

He looked up, the others doing the same as a demon with purple skin and horns, black bat wings, and arms that looked like they belonged on an insect landed in front of them grinning, wearing the same thing the boat owner had been.

"I'm glad you figured it out," Bobo said. "My thanks. I was the only one who remembered what we were, so I had to leave when the others started going crazy and thinking they were human. But I knew you wizards could figure it out and save everyone."

Sado nodded just as the village chief leapt onto Bobo, sobbing happily. Then, Sado sighed, turning to Erza.

"Alright, time to head back," Sado said.

"Please, stay until morning," the chief said.

"We can't," Sado said. "We need to get him medical attention as soon as we can. And besides that, we're in trouble with our guild master for coming here, even though he told us not to. Thank you for the kind offer though."

The chief nodded then turned to one of the other villagers.

"Bring it out, won't you?" the chief asked, the villager nodded and running off.

A moment later, he returned, carrying a small chest. He set t down, opening it to reveal the gold inside of it. Natsu and Lucy stared at the gold hungrily and Sado bowed.

"Thank you," Sado said, lifting the chest.

He reached into it, pulling out an handful and dropping it in Natsu's hands, then a similar amount in Gray's.

"Hey, what's the big idea?" Natsu shouted.

"A few jewel? Are you serious?" Gray demanded.

"Neither of you ow rent, and neither of you are actually anywhere near being allowed to go on S class missions," Sado said. "However, without you I wouldn't be allowed to come on S class missions either, so I can't go without paying you. As promised, half of this is going to Lucy to pay for her rent. The rest, will be going to Ur, to help her get a new life started."

Both Natsu and Gray fell silent, nodding. Erza nodded as well and turned, carefully lifting Ur.

"I'm going to go and get her dressed," Erza said. "Once I'm done, we'll leave."

"Okay," Sado nodded.

She walked into a tent, and a few minutes later, came back out, tossing Lyon's cape to Gray, who clipped it around Lyon's neck before picking him up, following Erza and the others back to the dock, Bobo going with them to take them to shore.

* * *

Leave a review. **A.N.: So, no one ever said it _couldn't_ happen like this. Technically. And also technically, I just couldn't leave well enough alone.**


	8. Chapter 8

I do not own any of the original Fairy Tail characters.

* * *

Awakened

Sado bowed, remaining silent as Makarov glared at him. He hated the silent treatment. Especially from the man that had been the closest thing to a father that he had ever known. He wished he would just say something. Anything.

"I'm disappointed in you, Sado," Makarov finally said.

Anything but that.

"I gave you one very specific rule," Makarov said. "I forbade you going to Galuna Island, and yet you went anyway. What's more, you risked unleashing Deliora on the world."

"I know, Master," Sado said. "I'm sorry."

"I don't want your apology," Makarov said. "I want you to listen to me when I tell you something. Don't you know how dangerous it was for you to go to Galuna Island? Didn't you ever once stop and think that maybe there was a reason why I didn't want you to go there?"

"I did," Sado said. "But that was exactly why I needed to be the one to go. And besides that, all of the other S class missions available were more dangerous."

"That may be, but you could have handled them anyway," Makarov said. "We both know that. You've been ready to become an S class wizard for years now."

"I know, Master," Sado said. "But Master, aren't you the one that says we should follow our hearts? Even if it means breaking rules?"

"Yes but not my rules!" Makarov shouted before sighing. "But you're right. Your heart led you to Galuna, and because of that, you were able to save not only Gray's former friend and those working for him, but also Gray's former master, who should have been beyond help. In the end, it would seem you were right. That doesn't mean you're out of trouble, but you _were_ right. Speaking of, how is Ur doing?"

"She hasn't woken yet," Sado said. "Porlyusica said it should be within the next few days." He smiled, snorting in amusement and shaking his head. "Gray hasn't left her side since we got back."

"I thought that would be the case," Makarov sighed, nodding. "And how are you and Mirajane doing?"

Sado's face fell, his eyes dropping to the floor.

"I see," Makarov said.

"What should I do?" Sado asked. "I know I forgive her but, every time I see her it hurts. And I don't know if I can trust her."

"And it's going to continue to hurt," Makarov said. "Love may be one of the greatest feelings in the world, but it's also the gateway to the greatest pain. Love is the source of all hate and pain. It's also the cure for them. Even if you forgive Mirajane, what happened will continue to hurt until you decide not to let it. As for trust, only you can decide to trust her. Someone can only earn a person's trust if they first risk giving it to them."

"But, I don't know if I can," Sado said.

"Do you love her?" Makarov asked.

"Yes," Sado nodded. "She's more important to me than anything."

"Then you have your answer," Makarov said. "In time, you will see that."

"Yes Master," Sado sighed, pushing himself to his feet. "May I be excused?"

"Yes," Makarov sighed. "Go ahead."

"Thank you Master," Sado bowed.

He turned, walking out of the room and down the stairs to the main room, glancing to the side to see Laxus leaning on a table, positioned just right to trap Mirajane between himself and the bar.

"Come on, you're not dating that freak anymore, and it's not like you haven't done stuff like that before," Laxus was saying, flames shooting off of Sado's fists instantly as he walked toward them.

"Laxus, please move," Mira said. "I'm not interested, and Sado's not a freak. Now please just leave me alone."

"Come on," Laxus said, leaning forward. "Just once? I promise I'll make it the best night of your-"

He stopped talking as Mira slapped him. He caught her arm, straightening up, squeezing her arm, pain flashing across Mira's face. Sado grit his teeth, the flames climbing up his arms rapidly.

"You shouldn't hit people when they're being nice," Laxus snarled. "Now listen here you slut. i'm being polite by asking. You're single now, so I'm well within my rights to ask. And you have no reason to refuse."

"Let go of me!" Mira said, pulling against his grip, Laxus making no move to release her.

"Maybe you should give me incentive to," Laxus grinned, leaning dangerously close to her.

"I've got some incentive for you," Sado snarled, grabbing him by the top of the head and turning, hurling Laxus away from Mira, slamming a hand into the underside of Laxus's elbow as he did, dislocating the elbow and making him release Mira's.

Laxus exploded out through the doors of the guild, Sado storming after him, flaming spikes growing from his elbows, flames now encasing his legs as well, spikes forming on his knees as well. Laxus stood, glaring at Sado as he punched his own arm, snapping it back into place and gritting his teeth as he bent and straightened it a few times.

You want to go freak!?" Laxus snarled, lightning streaming from his fist. "Bring it on!"

"Stop!" Macao shouted from off to the side. "You can't fight like that in the city!"

Both ignored him completely as Laxus's spell shot directly at Sado, only for Sado to punch the lightning bolt, the spell exploding against the flames around his fist, sending him skidding backward a few feet before he stopped. Laxus was suddenly surrounded by lightning and shot toward Sado, only for Sado to launch himself forward with flames, their fists colliding and sending both backward, Sado on his back and Laxus on his feet. Laxus leapt over Sado, landing on the second floor, grinning at Sado from above.

"Nice try," Laxus smirked. "But you've got no chance of beating an S class wizard like me. Don't get cocky just because you beat Natsu!"

Suddenly, Sado was behind Laxus, his entire body encased in flames.

"Don't you _ever_ touch Mirajane again," Sado snarled in Laxus's ear.

As Laxus began to turn, Sado's fists crashed into his back, blasting him through the railing and down into the main floor again. Then, Sado dropped to the floor in front of him, the flames around his body growing larger.

"What do you care, you dumped her, remember!?" Laxus shouted, standing and firing a bolt of lightning at Sado, only for Sado to send a fireball out, blocking it, the explosion flinging all of the tables into the walls, the guild members having evacuated already. "You have no claim to her anymore!"

"Isn't it you who says that the strongest one gets to stake a claim to whatever he wants?" Sado snarled. "Under those rules, you have no right to stake any claims."

Laxus roared in rage, shooting forward, lightning gathering around his fist, only for Sado to appear over him, slamming his clasped hands into Laxus's back, blasting him into the floor. Laxus flipped, slamming both feet into Sado's face and launching him into the wall before inhaling.

"Lightning Dragon Roar!" Laxus shouted, exhaling a massive wall of lightning.

Sado exhaled a massive stream of flames, the two attacks hitting and exploding instantly, cracks spreading over the guild hall.

"Stop it both of you!" Mirajane shouted, stepping in between them, arms up. "You're destroying the guild hall! Just stop!"

Sado stared at her before taking a long breath, his flames slowly sinking back into his body. Mirajane sighed just as Laxus appeared in front of Sado, choke slamming him into the ground and beginning to drill his other hand into his face. Sado caught the hand, flames exploding out of his other, but the hand Laxus was using to hold Sado down lit up with electricity, Sado's flames going out as his body convulsed. After a second, Laxus let the electricity end and continued drilling his fist into Sado's face.

"Laxus, stop it!" Mira shouted, watching as the fist fell again, and again, and again. "I said...STOP IT! ! !"

She was encased in light as she appeared beside Laxus, her foot crashing into his ribs and launching him out of the guild hall. As Laxus stood, she landed in beside Sado, in between him and Laxus. Her hair was raised, floating above her with the small piece she usually kept sticking up using a hair tie now extended and bending forward like a spike. Her ears had grown pointed, and her dress had grown into a red unitard-like outfit with the front opened down to about her waist with a fire-like design on the edge of the opening and a yellow border, and with a high collar with several points along the top. There was a pink cloth around her neck and tied into a bow, she wore thigh-high red boots with a black strip at the top of the front, yellow bordering it and designed similarly to the open portion of the top. She had a long, armor-plated reptilian tail extending behind her, a pair of large bat-like wings, and her hands had transformed into large greenish yellow armored-glove-like hands with sharp claws and fish-like scales extending from under them to her elbows, a fin extending from the outside of each forearm. Lastly, there was a crack on the right side of her face, running down through her eye, and two more cracks on her hips.

"That's enough, Laxus," Mirajane said. "If you continue to fight, it will be with me."

"Oh please, you don't have the will to fight," Laxus snorted. "You haven't had the will to fight since your sister died."

"If you're willing to risk that, feel free to attack," Mirajane invited. "I promise you, I won't hold back."

Laxus watched her for another moment before huffing and straightening up. "Whatever. Be that way. You want to be with a freak instead of me then you go right ahead. Hell you're a freak too anyway, so I suppose it's fitting."

He turned, walking away as Sado's eyes slowly creaked open, staring up at Mirajane.

"Mi...ra..." Sado breathed, Mira turning to him, transforming back instantly and dropping to her knees, worry covering her face. "Did...I win?"

Mira laughed, nodding. "Yes. You won."

Sado smiled, turning his head back up to the ceiling and letting out a pained groan. "Liar." He smiled widely, turning to her again. "You transformed."

"I didn't want you hurt anymore," Mira said, taking his hand.

He stared at their hands for a moment before closing his fingers around hers, smiling as he did, his thumb lightly brushing over her fingers. "I'm sorry."

Mirajane nodded, smiling. "It's alright. I should be the one apologizing. You got hurt because of me."

"I didn't mean about the fight," Sado said.

"I know," Mirajane said. "I'm sorry. I never realized I was hurting you, and I should have. I had no idea...no, I should have known that I was wrong. I should never have done any of the things I did, and I'm so sorry for it."

"You don't have to be," Sado smiled. "I forgave you as soon as it happened."

"Then, can we...try again?" Mira asked.

Sado stared at her, seeing the tiny pinprick of hope flickering in her eyes, but slowly shrinking as he remained silent. "I...can't. Not yet. I love you, Mira. And I always will. But I can't yet. I just...I still need time."

"Okay," Mira nodded. "I'll wait. For as long as you need."

Sado nodded and grit his teeth, groaning as he sat up. He pulled his last small crystal orb out of his pocket sighing. "I hate eating these."

He bit down on it and swallowed, gritting his teeth and resisting the urge to gag. Then, he felt his face burn slightly before the swelling faded and he sighed.

"There," Sado sighed. "How do I look?"

"Handsome as ever," Mira smiled.

He smiled, shaking his head just as Gray and Ur walked out, Ur wearing some spare clothes Lucy had given her to get her by until she bought fresh ones. Ur looked around, brow furrowing in confusion.

"Where are we Gray?" Ur asked.

"This is the Fairy Tail Guild," Gray said. "We're in the west, in a city called Magnolia. That's Sado, the person that saved your life."

Ur looked over at him, raising an eyebrow as her eyes roamed over him as though she were sizing him up. After a moment she snorted, shaking her head slightly.

"And just what hole did you crawl out of?" Ur asked. "That's a pretty impressive immitation."

"How did you..." Sado stopped, cocking his head as a small smile grew on his face. "...know?"

"Wouldn't you like to know," Ur snorted, smiling as well. "So, you saved me huh? How?"

"I didn't," Sado said. "Some midget's magic controlled time of non-living things, but a power called the moon drip changed the effects it had, allowing it to restore your body."

"And Deliora?" Ur asked.

"You killed it," Sado said.

"Well, at least you're honest," Ur said. "Fine. He'll do."

"He'll do?" Mira asked, hands on her hips and one eyebrow raised. "For what?"

"I'm going to teach him how to control his flames," Ur said.

"Huh?" Sado asked, shoulders sagging as his head fell to the side. "But, you're an Ice Make wizard, aren't you?"

"Well obviously," Ur said. "God, you're not very sharp. Anyway, even though I don't actually know how to use it, Fire Make Magic is actually pretty similar, so the basic fundamentals are the same."

"So, you're going to teach me Fire Make Magic?" Sado asked.

"That's right," Ur smirked. "Now, let's go. For the time being, you're also going to be my escort until I get my feet under me. I need to hear your story anyway. I have a feeling it's a good one."

"It's really not that impressive," Sado sighed. "But, sure. Why not."

He sighed, walking after her out of the guild hall, the others all watching them go before turning back to Mira, who was glaring a hole into the back of Ur's head.

* * *

Leave a review. Seriously. Review. Someone. Anyone. Anything. Really. Please?


	9. Chapter 9

I do not own any of the original Fairy Tail characters.

* * *

Phantom

Sado sighed as Ur dragged him into yet another clothing store. Already his arms were covered with handles from shopping bags, about ten in each hand.

"So, when we finally start training, you're not going to make me strip like you did Gray, right?" Sado asked.

"Hell no," Ur said. "That was to get used to the gold, so he didn't kill himself. Normally a Fire Make wizard would have to move to the desert and wear more layers to get used to the heat. But you're a bit of a special case. You already have Fire Magic, and for the most part you're immune to heat. Fire still burns you, as evidenced by your description of your fight with Natsu, but you don't need to prepare your body for Fire Make Magic. Actually, you'll probably pick it up very quickly."

"Good," Sado said. "Because the sooner I can stop carrying your bags the happier I'll be."

"Relax, we're heading back to my new house next," Ur said. "Besides, it's not like that's actually heavy for you or anything."

"That's beside the point," Sado said. "Most of these are underwear."

"And you got to watch me model them," Ur said. "So why are you complaining."

"If by 'got to,' you mean 'was frozen in place and forced to,' then yeah, I got to," Sado said. "Which is exactly why I'm complaining."

"I told you I needed help deciding which looked best," Ur shrugged.

"It's underwear," Sado growled. "It doesn't matter how it looks. Unless you take your clothes off, no one's going to see it. And besides that, you got them all anyway!"

"Oh calm down," Ur said. "You're a male. We both know you enjoyed yourself. Besides, it's not like you're cheating on anyone. That silver-haired chick back at the guild hall's just jealous because you're hanging out with someone who's prettier than her."

Sado snorted in amusement and Ur turned, an ice dagger held to his throat.

"What was that?" Ur asked.

"Mira's twice as beautiful as you, easily," Sado said.

"Only twice, huh?" Ur grinned, ice dagger disintegrating as she turned around. "I must really be a looker for you to be in love but only say twice."

"Wait, what?" Sado blinked, feeling like he had somehow just been outsmarted.

"Let's go," she called back. "I'm done here."

"Finally!" Sado groaned loudly, following her out of the store and down the road to Ur's new house, a very large one that was big enough for two full families to live in comfortably and not have to associate.

She had apparently offered for Gray to live with her, but he had declined. So, she lived alone. Sado dropped the bags on the floor of her bedroom after climbing two flights of stairs and walking down what felt like a small maze of hallways. Ur grinned at him, shaking her head at how disgruntled he was. She turned away from him, taking off her jacket and tossing it onto the coat rack in the corner, leaving her in just a small tube top and her jeans. She stretched her arms over her head before turning to him, smirking.

"Okay, now that that's over with, first lesson," she said. "Hand placement." She formed a fist, pressing the top of it against her other palm, fingers straight and spread. "I'm sure you've seen Gray do it a million times."

He copied her and a spell circle formed in front of her hands as frozen air began to radiate from them. He focused his fire there, flames bursting to life on his hands, but without a spell circle.

"No no," she said. "You can't just focus your flames there. To use Fire Make Magic, the ratio needs to be more magic than flames."

He blinked, mind flashing back to his training on the beach, forming a sword and dagger blades. He focused again, this time a glowing red spell circle forming in the air.

"Good," Ur said. "No, let it dissipate. I'm not letting you burn my house down."

Sado rolled his eyes, letting the magic and flames fade, the spell circle shrinking back out of existence. He straightened up, sighing. "Thank you for training me. Can we continue this tomorrow?"

"Anxious to escape the beauty in front of you in favor of the beauty waiting for you back at the glorified bar?" Ur grinned, Sado rolling his eyes. "Sure. Meet me outside the city tomorrow. I'll train you there."

Sado nodded and left the building, walking back to the guild hall and sitting at the bar, sighing. Cana set a mug of beer beside him, picking up her keg and Sado stared at the mug before picking it up and draining it.

"It's been a while since you drank," Cana said. "You okay?"

"Not really," Sado said. "I just got dragged around all day as a glorified pack mule while Ur went on a shopping spree."

"At least you convinced her to join," Cana said. "She'll be an amazing addition to the guild. And I think she brings out a little of the old Mira."

Sado glanced at Mira, watching her serve Jet a refill. He sighed, holding his mug out to Cana, who refilled it for him.

"What exactly are you waiting for, anyway?" Cana asked. "Staying away isn't going to make you feel better, or hadn't you noticed?"

"I noticed," Sado said.

"Then why stay away?" Cana asked.

"I don't know," Sado said, eyebrow twitching as he clenched his fists. "Maybe because she cheated on me? Maybe because every time I look at her I think about how I'm not good enough? Maybe because I'm afraid I'll snap and hurt her?"

"You won't," Cana said, Sado's eyes widening as his anger went out like a candle.

"How can you possibly know that?" Sado asked.

"Because you love her," Cana said. "She's the only person aside from the Master who can stop your full rages, and she does it just by being there. You won't hurt her because you need her. In case no one's ever told you, you've got a streak of codependency in you. If you don't have her, you constantly feel alone, even when you're with all of us. But when you're with her, even though you knew what was happening, I never saw you stop smiling. At least, not until the end."

"So what do you suggest?" Sado asked.

"Drink until you forget your own name," Cana said. "But then, that's what I intend to do."

"Can you even get that drunk anymore?" Sado asked.

"Guess we'll find out," Cana grinned, tipping her keg back.

Sado sighed, standing and heading to bed. As he lay there, his mind remained completely active, replaying memories of Mira, replaying everyone's advice to him, imagining how things could be if he got back together with her. Finally he closed his eyes, forcing himself to sleep, as he had done on the beach. He awoke a moment later when the guild hall shook. He sprinted down to the main room to find gigantic metal poles as big around as his body breaking out of the guild hall, all from the center of the floor, where they were all connected in a dome, and a single man was standing beside the dome, dusting his hands off. He had a dark grey muscle shirt, black pants, black combat boots, and had long, messy black hair.

"Hey you!" Sado shouted, the man turning to him, grinning. "Who the hell do you think you are?"

"Glad you asked," the man grinned. "I'm a messenger. Phantom Lord says hello."

Then, his arm transformed into one of the metal poles, slamming into Sado's chest and sending him crashing through the bar and into the wall. Sado groaned, standing, only to find the man was gone. A moment later, Makarov and Mirajane ran in, staring at the construct in the center then at him.

"Phantom Lord sent a messenger," Sado said, wiping a trickle of blood from his mouth and walking outside as the others were arriving.

He looked at the sky, seeing the sun was beginning to rise. He sat down against the wall of the opposite building, staring up at the building as they waited for everyone else. Finally, Makarov and most of the others headed inside, Sado remaining where he was and Mira sitting beside him.

"What the hell happened to our guild?" Natsu's voice suddenly demanded.

"Phantom," Mira said, walking over to them.

Sado sighed, ignoring them as he pushed himself up, thinking back to the fight with the man before. The man had attacked without a spell circle, something he had only ever known one person besides himself to do. He turned, staring at Natsu.

"Come on," Mirajane said. "Everyone's in the basement."

Natsu and the others nodded and they all walked to the basement, Sado following. Once in the basement, they found that several people, including Makarov, were completely drunk and the basement had been turned into the new common area. Sado sat beside Cana, picking up her bottle of wine and upending it, draining half of it before giving it back, Cana rolling her eyes.

"That upset are you?" Cana asked.

"Oh right, because that half a wine bottle would really make that much of a difference to the girl who drinks beer by the keg every minute of every day," Sado said, feeling his head beginning to grow numb. "Now, for me on the other hand..."

He smiled pleasantly as warmth spread through his body and he set his head down, closing his eyes and drifting off to sleep. After a while, he felt someone shaking him and sat up, yawning and looking around, seeing Mira giving him an exasperated look.

"You really shouldn't drink so much," Mira said. "You know how hard alcohol hits you."

"Yeah I know," Sado smiled. "That's why I drank it."

Mira sighed, shaking her head. "Come on. Makarov said no one should sleep alone, and since the guild's ruined, that means you're staying with me and Elfman."

Sado nodded, following her out of the guild hall, yawning again but glad that his flames burned alcohol away too fast for him to ever wake up hung over. After a while, they reached her and Elfman's house, Mira opening the door and stepping out of the way, allowing Sado in. He let her close the door then held his arm out, motioning for her to lead him. She laughed.

"Right, because you've _never_ been here before," Mira smiled.

"Still, it's only fair since I'm the guest," Sado smiled.

Mira smiled, walking away from the door, Sado following. They walked to the kitchen where Elfman was getting things ready for dinner. He nodded to acknowledge Sado's presence, then returned to his task.

"So, do you guys think this is going to come to war?" Sado asked.

"No," Mira said. "Unless they attack us directly, Master Makarov won't allow it to come to war."

"And you don't think there's any chance of them attacking us directly?" Sado asked.

"Maybe," Mira said. "We're not a weak guild. They probably know we'd tear them apart."

"And yet they tried to start a war anyway," Sado said. "They must know something we don't."

"It's a moot point," Elfman said. "Until they attack us, we're forbidden from going to war and that's all there is to it."

Mirajane nodded in agreement and Sado shrugged.

"Alright," Sado nodded.

Sado set about helping Elfman with the meal, using his fire to speed-cook everything like he usually did, and a couple minutes later they began to eat. Once they were done, Sado and Mira cleaned up and they took turns showering, Sado putting on some spare clothes Mira had him keep there for emergency situations.

Sado walked out into the living room, combing his hair to the right with his fingers and heating his hands to dry it in place. Mira watched him do it and smiled.

"So that's how you make your hair sit so perfectly," Mira said.

"Holds better than any hair gel," Sado smiled. "So...I suppose I'll sleep on the couch."

Mira's face fell for the briefest moment before returning to a pleasant smile and she nodded. "I'll see you in the morning."

Sado nodded and she walked out of the room. He sighed, dropping onto the couch and holding his hands to his face. Being back at the house was hard. Memories were constantly assaulting his mind. Finally, as he fell asleep, the memory of how they met took hold.

* * *

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	10. Chapter 10

I do not own any of the original Fairy Tail characters.

* * *

Problems

It was dark as he walked down the street, eyes not leaving the ground as he took every back alley he could. He had to find help. He had no other options. Everything he had known before was gone. He stopped, watching as the ground around his feet slowly began to glow red. He looked back at the glowing footprints he had left in his wake. He hated the flames. He hated not being able to stop moving, not being able to touch anything, or anyone. He hated being called a monster. He wasn't a monster. He just couldn't control it. But then, maybe he _was_ a monster. His flames had burned his entire village down, after all. He had killed his family. Maybe he deserved to die.

"Hey, you there!" a feminine voice shouted from off to the side.

He turned to look, seeing a girl about his age, thirteen at best, with silver hair in a ponytail, a dark purple top with spaghetti straps and her midriff exposed, and a pair of short shorts standing on top of a building.

"What are you doing?" she demanded. "Put those flames out! You'll hurt someone."

His chest constricted. He'd have cried if his tears could survive the flames.

"I can't," he said miserably. "I can't stop them. I killed everyone. My family. My town. It's all gone."

"No way, that fire was you?" she asked, watching him nod miserably. "Well, follow me then. And try not to set anything on fire, okay?"

He nodded again, watching the girl drop to the ground and start walking away, following her silently. After a few minutes, they stopped outside of a building and she told him to wait outside. After a few minutes, she returned with an old man who stood slightly shorter than her.

"So this is the boy?" the old man mused. "Hello son, I'm Makarov. I'm in charge of this Magic Guild. Mira tells me that you can't control your flames."

He shook his head.

"What's your name?" Makarov asked.

"I don't remember," he said. "I woke up and my home was burning. My family was dead. But I can't even remember their names or faces. I just know they were my family. I don't even remember who I am."

Makarov sighed and nodded, holding his staff out. "For now, I'm going to suppress your power, that way you can come inside and rest."

Light formed around him and suddenly his flames began to shrink before disappearing entirely. He stared at his hands in awe before picking the man up in a hug. The man chuckled.

"Now, come on inside and we'll find you something to eat," Makarov said.

He nodded, following them inside to a bar where Makarov got him a ham and cheese sandwich, setting it in front of him. He picked it up and took a bite, only to gag and turn to the side, vomiting it back up instantly.

"I-I'm sorry," he said. "I-I didn't mean to do that."

"It's alright," Makarov said. "Here, wash it down with water, and try your best to hold it in."

He nodded, taking another bite and washing it down, then covering his mouth, squeezing his eyes shut as his body tried to reject it. Finally, it settled and he tried again, once again having to force it to stay down.

"It's alright," Makarov said. "You don't have to eat it."

"I like it," he said. "It tastes really good. For some reason, it just won't stay down."

"I see," Makarov nodded. "Well, in any event, we'll need to find you a name."

"How about Sparky," Mira smirked.

He stared at the ground. Mira sighed, thinking.

"How about Sado?" Mira asked. "It sounds cool and fits someone with Fire Magic."

He stared at her for a minute then nodded, smiling slightly. Mira smiled as well.

"Alright then," Makarov smiled. "Sado it is. Now, Sado, we have some rooms upstairs. Why don't you go and get some rest, and tomorrow I'll teach you to control your power."

Sado nodded and Mira stood, leading him up the stairs to and empty room.

"You can stay here for now," Mira said. "I'll probably be helping the old man tomorrow, so I'll see you then."

And with that, she left. Sado lay down, closing his eyes. What felt like a second later, something hit the back of his head, hard. He shouted in pain, sitting up and holding his head, staring up Mira.

"You're late!" Mira said. "God, it's almost noon! When was the last time you slept?"

"I can't remember," Sado said, Mira falling silent.

"Oh," Mira said. "Well...sorry for hitting you. Come on. The old man's waiting."

Sado nodded, following her out of the building then out of the city. Once outside of the city, they found Makarov sitting on a rock, waiting.

"There you are," he smiled pleasantly. "Are you ready to start?"

Sado nodded and Mira took a few steps away from him. Then, Makarov raised his staff, releasing the suppressing spell he had placed before. Instantly, flames erupted from Sado's body, reaching almost ten feet in the air before shrinking back down, forming to his body for the most part.

"Now, focus on the flames," Makarov said. "Will them to sink back into your body."

Sado nodded, focusing, but as he did, images of his family, burned and unrecognizable, and of the fire consuming his home flashed into his head. He grit his teeth, hands shaking. The flames began to shrink.

"Good," Makarov nodded.

Then, they began to shrink faster, beginning to form even more to his body. Spikes began to grow from his elbows and knees. He grit his teeth, pain lancing through his head, making him growl in effort, trying to will the fire away, only for it to speed up. It began to form claws on his hands.

"Master!" Mira gasped.

"Oh dear," Makarov said.

Then, Sado's body moved on its own, shooting forward and swiping at Makarov, only for Makarov to leap out of the way. Sado's hand hit the rock instead and blasted it into rubble. He roared, streaking after Makarov, who continued to evade the attacks.

"Sado, calm yourself!" Makarov called out. "You can control the flames! You just need to focus!"

Sado's body roared, a jet of flames shooting out of his mouth, Makarov only barely avoiding it. Then, it turned its head, seeing a female devil with bat wings, claws, silver hair, and a sphere of darkness between her hands.

"Get away from him!" she shouted, the sphere turning into a beam of darkness.

Sado's arm snapped out, a stream of white-hot flames shooting out, crashing into the beam and causing an explosion. Then, his body leapt at the demon, clearing the smoke and swiping at her, only for Makarov to slam a massive fist into him, blasting him into the ground. Sado's body roared again, a massive wall of flames shooting up behind him. However, before they could do anything, Makarov drew a seal in the air, a spell circle appearing around Sado and shrinking into him, the flames both behind Sado and on his body going out instantly. Sado dropped to his knees before tipping forward, crashing to the ground and string blankly ahead of him for several seconds. Finally, he groaned, slowly pushing himself up only for the female devil to stomp on his back, pinning him back to the ground.

"That's enough, Mira," Makarov said.

Sado stared up at the devil in shock. Mira? That was Mira?

"Are you sure he's safe?" Mira asked.

"He's under control now," Makarov said, Mira letting him up, changing back to her human appearance. "Now, Sado, the seal I placed on you will allow you to utilize your flames without losing control. However, if you lose control of your anger, you'll also lose control of your flames, returning to that state."

"I don't want them!" Sado said. "Please, just get rid of them!"

"I can't do that," Makarov said. "Your flames are a part of you. To take them away, I'd have to kill you."

"Then just do it!" Sado sobbed. "I don't want to hurt anyone! I don't want to have them! I just want to be normal!"

"Well you're not!" Mira snapped. "So suck it up and learn to deal with it!" She transformed back into her devil form. "Because I had this power, my family and I were run out of our home, and I was called a devil. Anywhere I went, I was treated like a monster. Until I got here. Here, Master Makarov taught me to control this power, and now I have the power to defend my family. Just because a power is scary doesn't mean that you should run away from it. Now suck it up and stand up."

Sado nodded, standing and wiping his eyes.

"Now, let's see those flames," Mira grinned, turning back into a human again.

Sado hesitated but then held his hand out, concentrating for a moment before shouting in surprise as flames shot twenty feet into the air from his palm. He focused and it began to shrink down until it was only about a foot tall.

"Good," Makarov said. "I leave him to you, Mira."

Mira nodded and turned to Sado, smiling. "Alright, let's get started shall we?"

* * *

Sado opened his eyes, seeing Mira standing over him, having shaking him awake. He could tell from her face that something was wrong.

"What's happened?"

* * *

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	11. Chapter 11

I do not own any of the original Fairy Tail characters.

* * *

To War

Sado pushed through the crowd, stopping as he stared up at the three people pinned to the tree. Levy and her team, all battered and bruised, all with their clothing torn in various spots, and Levy with Phantom Lord's symbol drawn on her stomach in black ink. Sado turned, seeing Makarov walking toward them and turned back to the tree, using his flames to get up to them and carefully removing them from the tree one by one, passing them to Erza, who was standing below him with Natsu, Gray, and Lucy.

"I can take out headquarters being attacked," Makarov snarled as Sado was slowly lowering himself back to the ground with Levy. "But I will not allow harm to come to my children without taking revenge!" He crushed his staff in his hand. "We have no choice but to go to war."

"For now, let's get these three to the hospital," Sado said. "We can discus war strategy once we know they're alright."

Makarov nodded and they took them all to the hospital, Lucy volunteering to stay with them. The rest of them went to the basement of the guild, Sado being the last to arrive with Ur and Mirajane.

"The nearest branch of Phantom Lord is to the North East," Sado said. "There's a good chance that Jose's not there, but one of the members might know."

"Actually, if he was going to be close enough to command a war, he'd need to be close," Erza said. "He's probably there."

"Even better," Sado said. "They want a war, I say we go give it to them."

Makarov nodded. "I agree. We're headed for Phantom Lord. Natsu, rumor has it that Phantom Lord has a Dragon Slayer by the name of Black Steel Gajeel. He's supposed to be an Iron Dragon Slayer. He's yours to deal with. Sado, Mirajane, Erza, Ur, since you four are the most powerful we currently have on hand, your four will be responsible for dealing with Phantom Lord's main S class wizards, the Element Four."

"Understood," all five nodded.

"Good," Makarov growled. "Let's go."

They all nodded and left, leaving Magnolia behind and getting on a train toward Oak Town, the location of Phantom Lord's closest branch headquarters. As they travelled, Ur and Sado went up to the roof to train. Sado placed his hands together, taking a breath before focusing his magic. The spell circle formed and he chose an item.

"Fire Make Sword," he spread his hands and a wave of flames shot outward, Ur blocking it with an ice shield. "Sorry."

"It's alright," Ur said. "It took me almost a year to get the hang of it. You just need to remember to focus on your magic actually forming whatever it is. Not just saying the words and hoping your magic responds."

Sado nodded, putting his hands together again. This time, when he swung his hands out, a whip formed. He cracked it, watching it snap against the ground, miraculously not burning anything. He let the whip fade and tried again, this time forming a wall. He reached out to it hesitantly, finally placing his hand against it. It was cool to the touch, despite being a wall of flames. It was also solid.

"Ready to test it?" Ur asked, Sado nodding. "Ice Make Harpoon!"

She fired a massive spike of ice, but when it hit the shield, both exploded into tiny pieces. Ur nodded approvingly.

"Remember, the more magic you use, the stronger it will be," Ur said. "For now though, that's really good."

Sado smiled and nodded and they headed back inside, Sado sitting down beside Mirajane. Mira huffed but remained silent.

"What?" Sado asked.

"I don't trust her," Mira said.

"She's just teaching me Fire Make Magic," Sado shrugged.

"But she doesn't _know_ Fire Make Magic," Mira said.

"She knows Ice Make, and the basics are similar enough that she can teach me Fire Make," Sado said. "And it's working. I'm finally learning something more useful than just throwing fire around like a maniac."

"I resent that remark," Natsu said from behind Sado.

"And yet you fit the bill perfectly," Sado said. "Anyway, there's no reason not to trust her, Mira."

Mira sighed, one hand resting on her necklace. Sado stared at it for several seconds before sighing, setting his head back and closing his eyes. He allowed memories to flash behind his eyes, and before he knew it, Mira was shaking him awake.

"We're here," Mira said.

He nodded, standing and walking off the train with the others. They walked through the town, finally stopping in front of a massive castle. Then, Sado stepped forward, cracking his knuckles.

"May I do the honors?" Sado asked.

"By all means," Makarov invited.

Sado grinned, crouching and pulling his fist back, flames shooting off of it. "Knock...knock!" He shoved his hand forward, a massive fireball exploding against the door and sending it blasting through Phantom Lord's common room, blasting into the far wall as Sado and the others walked in, the wizards gathered before them staring at them in shock.

"Fairy Tail has come calling!" Makarov shouted. "Get them!"

Chaos erupted instantly. Natsu and his usual team shot forward instantly, tearing into the Phantom Lord wizards rapidly. Then, the rest of Phantom Lord, all several dozen of them, came streaming out and the rest of the back rooms, the rest of Fairy Tail surging to meet them. Sado waited, his flames growing higher and Fairy Tail carefully fought their way out of his path. A massive flood of Phantom Lord charged toward him and Sado smirked, swinging his arms forward. Flames shot off of his hands, crashing through the mages, burning and hurling them across the room. One wizard with a massive steel club leapt at him from above, only for Sado to blast the club out of his hands and catch him by the throat, holding up his other hand, flames rolling off of it.

"I'll only say this once," Sado snarled, "Where...is...Jose?"

"H-He's u-upstairs!" the man stammered, trying to back away from the flames, cowering.

Sado let the flames go out and smiled kindly. "Thank you. Gray!"

He turned, hurling him at Gray, who formed a massive hammer. Then, he smashed the hammer into him, sending him flying.

"Hell yeah!" Gray cheered. "Home run!"

Sado turned to Makarov, who was in his giant form, tearing through the terrified Phantom Lord members. "Master! He's upstairs!"

Makarov nodded, shrinking back down and strolling calmly through the wizards, blasting any that got in his way. "Erza, I leave the rest to you."

Erza nodded and Sado sighed.

"Well that's depressing," Sado said, flipping a Phantom Lord member end over end then hurled him into another group of them. "I was hoping I'd get to be in charge for a bit."

"You're no S class yet, so you're not allowed to take command," Mira smiled sweetly, even as she batted a Phantom Lord member aside with her wing.

"Yeah I know," Sado sighed, putting his hands together. "Fire Make Hammer!"

A massive flaming hammer appeared in his hands and he spun, sending a wave of Phantom Lord members flying. Just as he did, a sea of wooden feet suddenly shot out of the ground in the distance, juggling the Phantom Lord members in that area. He turned to the purple haired waitress that he had never once seen fight, Laki Olietta.

"I didn't know Laki had Maker Magic," Sado mused.

"Oh yeah," Mira said. "I forgot about that."

Sado shook his head just as someone dropped from the rafters. They landed hard, kicking up a cloud of dust and drawing everyone's attention, but Sado had seen exactly who it was.

"Gajeel," Sado snarled, walking toward him, everyone standing frozen. "Everyone stay back. I'll handle this. At least, until one of the Element Four show up."

"You think you can handle the Element Four?" Gajeel grinned. "Let's test that, shall we? Iron Dragon Club!"

His hand transformed into the same type of metal pole he had used to break the guild hall, shooting out at Sado, only for Sado to catch it in one hand, flames shooting off of his other hand.

"You destroyed my home," Sado snarled. "You hurt my friends. Now, I'm going to hurt you!"

He slammed his hand into the pole, his other hand slamming into the opposite side, flames flying off of both, Gajeel shouted in pain as the metal heated up, quickly glowing cherry red. Gajeel spun, his arm ripping out of the metal pole, and Sado slammed the end of it into Gajeel's head, sending him flying. All around them, people watched in utter disbelief as Sado tossed the chunk of metal aside, walking toward Gajeel as he stood.

"Nice try!" Gajeel shouted. "Try this!"

He shot forward, his legs extending into poles like before flipping, both shooting out and crashing into Sado's chest, throwing him backward. Sado bounced once before Gajeel fell at him from above. Sado grinned. Then, a massive pillar of flames shot out of his mouth, Gajeel using a pair of Iron Dragon Clubs to throw himself out of the way, Sado ending the blast and flipping, landing on all fours, flames curling off of his hands.

"You must be Fairy Tail's Fire Dragon Slayer, Salamander," Gajeel said.

"Wrong," Sado growled. "I'm the Phoenix, Sado."

Then, flames shot out of his feet as he shot forward, crashing headlong into Gajeel and blasting him backward. He flipped, landing on his feet and nodding once. A moment later, Natsu crashed down on Gajeel's abdomen.

"Hey, I'm Natsu, the Fire Dragon Slayer," Natsu grinned wickedly before grabbing Gajeel by the hair. "And I'm going to kick your ass!"

He spun, hurling Gajeel at Sado who slammed a punch into his face, flipping him end over end before turning, kicking him in the back and sending him blasting into a staircase. Natsu stepped up beside him flames coating his hands.

"Sick 'im boy," Sado said.

Natsu grinned, streaking forward and throwing a punch, only for Gajeel to flip over it, Then, Natsu flipped, kicking him and sending him flying into the air. Natsu followed, the two leaping to the rafters, beginning to destroy them as they fought. Sado turned back to the others, seeing that the fighting had mostly stopped to watch. Small battles still raged here and there, but for the most part, everyone was too interested in Gajeel and Natsu.

Just then something fell from above, crashing to the ground. Sado ran over to it, stopping beside it as Erza, Mira, and Gray arrived, all staring at Makarov, now green and with no magic whatsoever radiating from him.

"What...what the hell...happened to him?" Sado breathed.

"I'm not sensing any magic at all from him," Gray said.

Erza knelt down, gently lifting Makarov just as the Phantom Lord guild members began to rally, all attacking at once. Three of them tried to blast Cana, but Macao shielded her. Several other guild members went down, being dragged away from Phantom Lord. Sado growled in rage, stepping forward.

"Where the hell do you think you're going!?" Sado seethed, swinging an arm and sending out a wave of flames, forcing the Phantom Lord members to retreat, the flames explosion catching the ones who were closest, scattering them around the room, all burned and unconscious.

"We need to retreat!" Erza called out.

"No way!" Gray shouted, blasting a group of Phantom Lord guild members with his ice.

"I've still got some fight in me," Macao said.

"Me too," Cana nodded, supporting Macao on her shoulders.

"A real man never retreats," Elfman said, slamming two enemy wizards' heads together and dropping them.

"Go," Sado said, his flames almost reaching the ceiling. "Let me worry about Phantom Lord."

After a moment, the others all nodded, retreating as Phantom Lord began to charge, only for Sado to begin firing a pair of massive streams of flame around the room, igniting everything in range. After a moment, he set his hands on the ground, turning it into magma just as Natsu stopped, staring up at Gajeel.

"Gajeel!" Natsu shouted.

"We'll settle our fight some other time," Gajeel grinned as he and a large wizard wearing a green suit and top hat with a cloth over his eyes vanished.

"Phantom Lord kidnapped Lucy!" Natsu snarled.

"Get out Natsu," Sado said, forming an enormous fireball.

Natsu turned, running out of the building as Sado turned to the Phantom Lord members.

"You might want to leave too," Sado snarled. "Fair's fair. A guild hall for a guild hall. We'll be repaying you for Master Makarov next."

With that, he hurled the fireball into the rafters and ceiling, the fireball exploding and blasting several floors into flaming debris, the rest catching fire. As Sado walked out, Phantom Lord members flooded past him, careful to give him a very wide birth. Then, once he was outside, he took off, flying with his flames as he left the burning guild hall behind, catching up to his own guild quickly.

* * *

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	12. Chapter 12

I do not own any of the original Fairy Tail characters.

* * *

Payback

"Okay, what do we do?" Erza asked, she and the other strongest mages standing around a map.

"I can't get ahold of Mystogan or Gildarts, and Laxus refuses to help," Mirajane said. "With Master hurt, what can we do?"

"What do we know about Jose's abilities?" Sado asked.

"Jose is a master of the Shade spell," Erza said.

"Oh of course he is," Sado sighed. "Alright, that'll be problematic but manageable."

"How do you figure?" Erza asked.

"I'll handle his shades, you take Jose," Sado said. "In the mean time, we'll have our weaker members, along with Laki, Macao, and Wakaba, draw their attention from the ridge here, then storm the castle with the strongest members we have."

"I'll help the ranged fighters," Elfman said. "I can throw Wakaba's explosive lacrima better than he can."

"No, you've got an important job to do inside the castle," Sado said.

Elfman blinked in surprise but nodded.

"Now," Sado said. "Inside, we'll be up against the majority of the guild when they return, the Element Four, and Jose's shade spirits. As I said, I'll handle the shade spirits. Among the Element Four, there's Sol of the Earth, Juvia of the Sea, Totomaru of the Flame, and Aria of the heavens. Each is an S class wizard, and each is also capable of some of the strongest elemental magic possible. Natsu, you're going to need all the strength you can get. You'll be fighting Totomaru, the Fire Magic user and Gajeel both. Totomaru takes priority."

Natsu nodded.

"Gray, I leave you and Ur to deal with Juvia," Sado said. "She's a Water Magic Use so you two have the advantage. Plus, Ur could probably overpower her in one or two strikes."

Gray and Ur both nodded.

"I'll handle both Sol and Aria," Sado said. "Aria is most likely the one that stole Master Makarov's powers, so he needs to be dealt with quickly. As such-"

"No," Erza said. "I agree with the plan for almost all of it," Erza said. "However, let's be completely honest, Sado. I'll be the one fighting Aria, because you're going to fight Jose yourself."

"Why would I do that?" Sado asked.

"As I said, let's be perfectly honest," Erza said. "You're the strongest wizard we have besides Master Makarov, Sado. In terms of raw power you've always been S class. It was your lack of control that kept the Master from allowing you to take the exam. If you use your full power to fight against Jose, you actually have the chance to defeat him."

"Yeah, and destroy everything and everyone around before that," Sado said. "Like you said, I have no control."

"She's right, Sado," Mira said. "You're the only one who stands a chance. But, what about me and Elfman?"

"Okay," Sado sighed. "Erza will fight Aria. Sol will be dealt with by Ur, leaving Gray to fight Juvia alone. Sound fair?"

Everyone nodded.

"Mirajane, you're the only person capable of perfect transformation magic," Sado said. "Since Phantom Lord wants Lucy, you're going to transform into her and turn yourself in."

"Then what?" Mira asked.

"Wreak havoc," Sado said. "If it looks important, destroy it."

"What about me?" Elfman asked. "You still haven't told me my job yet."

"Simple," Sado said. "As soon as the fighting begins, you're going to bust in and look after your sister."

"What?" Elfman gaped. "But she's stronger than me! How am I supposed to protect her?"

"Simple," Sado said. "You use _that_ form."

Elfman's eyes widened and he backed away, shaking his head just as the ground shook. They all sprinted up the stairs and out of the guild, to the clear area behind it, only to stop as they saw the Phantom Lord head quarters walking toward them on gigantic mechanical spider legs, a massive chunk of ground attached to the bottom of the castle.

"What is that thing?" Natsu gaped.

"Okay, new plan," Sado said. "Mira, you're getting us inside."

Suddenly, the castle sat down, the front of the top sliding down and a massive cannon barrel extending from it.

"Oh now what?" Sado growled.

The cannon began to charge, a dark vortex of magic forming at the end of the barrel.

"Oh fuck!" Sado growled. "Ur, Gray, Laki, let's go!"

All four sprinted forward, placing their hands together.

"Fire Make-" Sado snarled, channeling all the power and magic he had into his spell circle, which grew larger than the guild hall behind him.

"Ice Make-" Gray and Ur both shouted, both growing similarly, though Gray's was smaller than either and Ur's was slightly larger than Sado's.

"Wood Make-" Laki shouted, her own spell circle about three quarters of Gray's.

"-Shield!" all four finished, forming four gigantic half-domes of magic, starting with Ur's, then Sado's, the Gray's, then finally Laki's.

Erza landed just inside of Laki's shield, requipping into a massive suit of pure white armor with a pair of huge shield halves on her arms, slamming them together as an enormous green spell circle formed above her.

Then, they heard the cannon fire and all of them grit their teeth, the ground lurching violently as the blast hit Ur's shield. After a moment, they heard it shatter and the ground lurched again. A few seconds later, they heard Sado's go and the ground lurched again. Then, it was Gray's shield's turn to fall. Then Laki's fell. The blast, a massive beam of dark magic, slammed into Erza's spell circle and stopped, bending the circle inward before fading, Erza letting the circle fade as she sighed.

"Well done you four," Erza said.

"I commend you on stopping the blast," Jose's voice said over a loudspeaker. "But Makarov has fallen. And that had to have taken a lot of energy from four of your strongest. Do you really think you can stop a second blast? Or that you can defeat Phantom Lord? Look at yourselves. You're all so battered and bruised that I'm surprised you're standing. Surrender Lucy Heartfilia immediately. You have no other choice."

The wizards around them began to shout exactly what they thought of Phantom Lord and Sado grinned, standing.

"The plan is the same for the main effort," Sado said. "Mira, do your thing."

Mira nodded, grabbing Lucy's hand and taking her into the Guild Hall.

"IF DEATH IS WHAT YOU WISH I'LL GIVE YOU A SECOND HELPING OF JUPITER! ! !" Jose shouted. YOU'VE GOT FIFTEEN MINUTES TO PONDER THE FOLLEY OF YOUR ACTIONS! ! !"

Just then, Shade phantoms began to swarm out of the castle. Everyone turned to Sado.

"Natsu, Ur, Gray, Erza, go," Sado said. "I'll deal with the phantoms and then I'll join you. Natsu, the cannon is all yours."

The others all nodded and took off, Elfman waiting behind Sado as the phantoms closed in. Sado held out a hand, launching a stream of flame at them, only for them to regenerate just behind the stream.

"I see," Sado sighed. "That's going to cause a problem."

The others began to help and Sado looked back to see if Mira was ready yet. Not seeing her, he turned back, blasting a phantom with a stronger shot than before, waiting for it to regenerate, except that it didn't.

"Oh, not I got it," Sado grinned. "Just keep hitting them! They can only handle so much damage before they stay gone!"

Everyone cheered, beginning to fight with renewed energy now that there was a possibility of winning in sight. Sado glanced at the cannon, sensing it starting to come back online. He turned back to the fight, but soon, the feeling of the cannon coming online was impossible to ignore. He looked and saw the dark magic forming around the barrel.

"Dammit Natsu," Sado snarled. "Of all the people who could be breaking that cannon, where the hell are you!"

The phantoms began to retreat and Sado turned to the castle, putting his hands together. He didn't have enough power to stop it, but maybe he could delay it long enough for everyone to clear out. Just as he began to form a shield, the cannon began to explode from base outward, finally blowing apart and falling off the castle. Everyone began to cheer and Sado sighed, letting his spell circle fade as the phantoms began to close in again.

"Heads up!" Sado said. "This isn't over yet!"

Just as the phantoms drew near, they veered off again, flying over to circle around the castle as the castle began to shift, rising out of the water as it began to break apart, individual pieces separating.

"Oh for crying out loud!" Sado growled. "Now what!?"

As they all watched, the castle transformed into a massive mechanical humanoid, towering over them.

"The giant!" Cana gasped.

"Phantom's most powerful weapon," Loke said.

"What!?" Sado gaped. "You guys knew about this and you didn't say anything!?"

"You didn't know!?" both gaped.

Sado slapped his forehead and turned back to the giant. It was fine. The plan would still work. But Mira seriously needed to hurry up.

"Kneel before me you detestable peasant," Jose said. "Savor your last moments, because soon, I will end your pathetic little lives."

Sado growled in annoyance as the phantoms returned, beginning to attack again, all of them returning to the fight. However, as they did, the giant began to move its arm in a counter clockwise circle, a magic circle forming at its fingertip. Sado stared at the brown circle.

"It...can't be," Sado breathed. "First the cannon...now..."

"What is is?" Cana asked.

"It's Abyss Break!" Sado shouted, spinning and blasting the closest phantoms on all sides. "It's a forbidden spell! That spell will level the city!"

"How long?" Cana asked.

"About ten minutes, give or take," Sado said. "Hopefully Natsu and the others can find its power source."

"Then I should buy us time," Mira said, finally arriving, appearing like Lucy but in Mira's red dress.

"Mira, what are you doing!?" Cana gasped.

"Don't do it!" Alzack, a gun-wielding mage, shouted.

"You can't!" Biska, his partner and obvious crush, agreed.

"You're late," Sado said.

"Sorry," Mira said. "I hope this plan works. Leave them alone! I'm the one that you're after! I'll surrender if you swear to stop attacking our guild!"

"Begone, imposter," Jose said, everyone staring in shock. Jose began to laugh. "Nice transformation, young lady, but you can't fool me. I knew from the start that Lucy Heartfilia wasn't here."

"What now?" Mira asked.

"Plan B," Sado said. "We'll just blast our way in directly."

Mira nodded, transforming into her she devil form. Then, just as she began to take off, a phantom shot past her, headed for Sado, who was busy taking out a group that had been overwhelming Cana, Elfman, Biska, and Alzack.

"Sado!" Mira shouted, flying back, Sado turning and seeing the phantom.

Before he could react, Mira shoved him aside, the phantom passing through her. Mira shrieked in pain as it passed through her, reverting to her human form and crashing to the ground. Sado dropped beside her instantly.

"Mira!" Sado said, Mira smiling tiredly up at him.

"You're okay," Mira smiled. "Good. Sorry, looks like I'm not breaking anything today."

"It's fine," Sado said. "You just rest. Elfman, get her-"

Suddenly a green spell circle formed below her and she fell into it, reappearing in between two of the giant's fingers. Elfman and Sado stared in shock.

"Did you really think your little parlor trick would fool me? As punishment, I'll crush you to death as you watch your friends perish!" Jose said, Mira screaming in agony.

"Mira!" Sado shouted, taking a step forward only for a wall of phantoms to form up in front of him, Sado blasting them, only for more to come. "Dammit! Elfman, save your sister!"

"But...I can't!" Elfman said. "I'm not strong enough!"

"You are if you use _that_ form!" Sado shouted, firing a constant stream of flames to block the phantoms.

"I _can't_ use that form!" Elfman shouted. "I'm a monster when I use that form! I killed Lisanna!"

Sado turned instantly, the others all struggling to make up the difference as flames roared to life all over Sado's body, everyone, Elfman included, shrinking back in fear.

"YOU'RE NOT A MONSTER JUST BECAUSE YOU CAN TAKE THE FORM OF A MONSTER! ! !" Sado raged. "JUST BECAUSE YOU HAVE THE FORM OF A DEMON DOESN'T MAKE YOU A DEMON! ! ! DO YOU REMEMBER WHO TOLD ME THOSE WORDS! ? !"

"I...I did," Elfman breathed.

"Exactly!" Sado snapped. "Now man up and go save your sister!"

He grabbed Elfman by the front of the shirt, turning and hurling him toward the castle, a wave of white-hot flames clearing his path. As soon as Elfman was past the phantoms, the phantoms closed in again, Sado growling in annoyance.

Elfman flew high, arching and beginning to fall toward Mira, who was screaming louder by the minute. He took a breath, then began to glow gold. Then, a massive purple spell seal appeared in front of him before smoke enveloped him. A moment later, a monster flew out of it. It had reptilian legs that bent backward like a dog's hind legs, his jeans remained on him but were ripped at the bottom and waist, green skin exposed over the center of its torso and running upward, red fur on the sides and back of its torso and down its arms including its clawed hands, green skin on its neck and face, a white bears and long white hair, two rows of sharp pointed teeth, a scar running down through its right eye, and a pair of golden horns like a crown and a similar spike growing out of each shoulder.

As soon as the change was complete, Elfman roared deafeningly loudly, crashing into the side of the castle before jumping to the hand crushing Mira and bracing himself on the fingers. A moment later, he forced them open, catching Mira and climbing onto one of the fingers, hugging his sister. Sado sighed in relief, seeing Mira was okay, then turned back to the problem at hand. Finally, all of the phantoms had gathered around them to attack, quickly having forced Fairy Tail into a tight circle, Sado standing at the center, which was perfect for him.

"Enough of this," Sado snarled. "I'm getting sick of waiting!"

"Well so are we!" Macao said. "But unless you have a plan to deal with these things, that's kind of a moot point, isn't it?"

"As a matter of fact, I _do_ have a plan," Sado grinned.

"Oh, so you're going to use that, huh?" Cana asked. "For anyone who doesn't know, you're all about to see exactly why Sado is called the Phoenix."

"Everyone down!" Sado shouted, his flames exploding off of his body and into the air.

Everyone dropped. Then, Sado crouched, arms out to his sides, a ring of fire forming around them all as the phantoms charged.

"Phoenix Egg!" Sado shouted, a massive egg-shaped barrier of flame appearing around them before turning into an explosion, shooting outward and blasting all of the phantoms, destroying them all.

The guild members began to cheer as Sado walked out of the circle and a safe distance from them, crouching down low as flames began to shoot off of his body again, the flames on his arms taking the form of wings and his legs being obscured by what looked like a tail.

"Phoenix Flight!" Sado shouted, exploding off of the ground, the flames exploding outward into a massive bird silhouette, crashing headlong into the Abyss Break spell circle.

For a moment, he remained there, electricity flying off of the impact point before the phoenix exploded, the spell circle fading and Sado flying out of the far side of the explosion and to the giant's head, blasting his way through the wall.

"He's amazing!" Macao gaped.

"Phoenix Flight is one of his three named attacks," Cana said. "He's always hated saying the name of an attack rather than just doing it, but he decided it was more fitting for the Phoenix nest, egg, and flight. Phoenix Flight is his single most powerful attack. But also his most exhausting on. He broke the Abyss Break, which I'm certain he actually didn't expect to do, but now I'm not sure he's got enough magic energy left to stand up to Jose."

* * *

Sado landed on his feet, breathing hard but chuckling to himself.

"Phew, I didn't actually think that would work," Sado sighed. "God that was exhausting."

"What...are...you!?" Jose demanded through gritted teeth. "You're inhuman! No one could have broken that spell circle! Not even Makarov!"

"You underestimate Makarov," Sado smirked, still kneeling on the floor.

Jose noticed and grinned widely. "You can't even stand now, can you? You're all worn out."

"Guilty as charged," Sado said. "I'm exhausted. I bet if Aria showed up behind me right now, I'd have no way of defending myself."

As if on cue, Aria became visible behind him.

"Tch, idiot," Sado grinned, a massive wall of flames exploding out of his back, blasting Aria out of the giant as Jose's eyes widened. "Was that you or him who fell for that?"

He turned, looking back to see Aria flying back toward the giant's head, only for Erza to crash into his back, blasting him into the torso somewhere. He turned back to Jose, smirking as flames began to roll off of his fists. They grew quickly, Sado gritting his teeth as he let his anger boil over.

"So, you think you can attack our guild hall, my friends, my master, without payback?" Sado snarled, voice dropping an octave. "Sure, maybe you can. But, you hurt Mirajane. For that, I'll tear you limb from limb!"

He shot forward, punching at Jose, only for Jose to deflect his punch. Then, Sado flipped, kicking downward. Jose sidestepped the kick, but the moment he did, the kick hit the floor, exploding and blasting the entire head into rubble. Jose crashed into one of the shoulders, growling in rage as Sado turned to him from the center of what the head had become, snarling. The flames on his hands focused, condensing into claws as he shot forward, his flames launching him to Jose. He slashed and Jose sidestepped it, slamming a knee into Sado's gut, launching him backward. He crashed down hard, looking to the side, seeing that the Abyss Break circle was already back to where it was.

"W...What?" Sado breathed.

"You're a fool," Jose said. "This giant is equipped with a redundant system, the purpose of which is to restore the Abyss Break to where it was if it's cancelled for any reason while at least one of the Element Four are still capable of battle. And we have three of them."

Sado growled in rage, pushing himself up just as Elfman landed on one of the arms, slamming a man in a brown suit with green hair down on the arm several times.

"Well, we still have Juvia and Aria," Jose sighed, suddenly standing over Sado, a sphere of dark energy held out toward him.

Sado flipped, kicking the arm upward just seconds before the sphere became a beam, shooting up into the air before exploding. Then, Sado crashed into Jose, fist first. The explosion hurled Jose away but when Jose landed, he grinned. Suddenly, a single phantom shot up out of the ground and through Sado, his flames going out instantly. He dropped to his hands and knees, groaning. He couldn't beat Jose. But maybe he could keep him busy long enough for Erza, or possibly Ur to show up and fight him.

Sado pushed himself up, swinging his arms backward and forming a pair of dagger blades. Jose smirked wickedly.

"So, you still have the strength to fight, do you?" Jose asked. "Good. I was afraid all those big words were all you were capable of. Come. Let me see how good you are with those toys."

Sado shouted in rage, charging forward and beginning to slash at Jose rapidly, Jose stepping around every attack easily.

* * *

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	13. Chapter 13

I do not own any of the original Fairy Tail characters.

* * *

War's End

Gray climbed out onto the wall of the castle, now as part of the hip, if he was judging correctly. He turned, helping Ur out just as it began to rain. He looked around just as someone began to walk toward them out of the fog that formed from the evaporating water. She wore a tall black hat, a blue waistcoat with a darker blue poncho over it, black boots and leggings, a white doll consisting of a head with a simplistic smile on its face and a white cloth hanging from the bottom of it, and her blue hair curled back on itself at the end, leaving it to hang about shoulder length.

"Drip drip drop," she said. "Hello. I am Juvia, the rain woman of the Element Four."

"I see, so you're one of them, huh?" Gray growled. "She's a Water Magic user. Let me handle this."

Ur nodded, Gray turning back to Juvia.

"If you're one of them, then you're my enemy," Gray said. "But let me make one thing clear. I'm not taking it easy on you just because you're a woman."

Juvia stared at him for several seconds before turning away. "Very well, I give up. You win. Goodbye."

She began to walk away quickly and Gray blinked in surprise.

"Hey, come back here and fight me!" Gray shouted, running after her. "At least tell me how to stop the giant!"

Suddenly, she turned, a massive sphere of water forming around Gray. He blinked in surprise, covering his mouth before focusing, the water sphere freezing then shattering, Gray landing on his feet, coughing up water.

"You almost got me with that sneak attack," Gray said. "You're playing dirty. I'm warning you. If you don't surrender now, I'll have no choice but to go all out. Ice Make Lance!"

Several ice spears shot out of his spell circle, driving themselves through Juvia, only for Juvia's body to turn into water where she was hit reforming.

"My body is made entirely of water, surprised, drip drip drop?" Juvia asked.

"Well, that's going to be a problem," Gray mused as Juvia muttered to herself.

"Water Slicer!" Juvia said, swinging a hand and sending out a dozen or so arcs of water at Gray.

Gray dove to the side and they curved upward, hitting the top of the stone spike sticking out of the ground and smashed the tip off.

"If given enough force, water gains the ability to smash through steel, drip drip drop," Juvia said. "But there is a way that you and your guild can be spared. Simply hand over Lucy Heartfilia to us."

"Don't give me that crap," Gray said. "You and I both know we're way past the point of no return. Besides, Lucy's one of us. I'd rather give my life than hand her over to you."

Juvia stared at him, mouth hanging open in a mortified expression. Gray turned to Ur, who shrugged. Suddenly, Juvia began to scream and sob, clutching at her chest.

"Oh the pain!" Juvia wailed. "How can fate be so cruel? My heart feels like it's been shred to bits! It hurts! Oh, it hurts!"

"What's wrong, are you feeling sick or something?" Gray asked, Juvia suddenly straightening up, eyes wide but face otherwise devoid of emotion.

"Lucy Heartfilia cannot be allowed to live!" Juvia suddenly shrieked, water shooting up around her.

Then, she shoved her hands forward, a blast of water shooting out and grazing Gray before splashing to the ground, hissing and steaming.

"That burns!" Gray gasped, "And what's your problem with Lucy?"

Juvia yelled angrily, firing at him again. He began to form something, practically anything to help, but the blast reached him before he could, forcing him to leap into the air. He landed on his right hand, only to instantly shove off the ground over the same blast. It was flying around as if alive, trying to hit him. As it swung around again, he landed in a puddle, skidding toward the edge but stopping short, sighing in relief.

"Ever since the day I was born, I have been followed by the rain," Juvia said, walking toward him. "It gives me strength. It makes me invincible." She held her hand up, a spell circle forming over her as a massive typhoon of scalding hot water formed over it, a decidedly angry face forming in the front of it. "Prepare to be scalded by my jealous rage!"

"What are you jealous of?" Gray demanded leaping backward again and again to avoid the scalding water, just as Ur began to laugh off to the side. "What the hell are you laughing about?"

Finally, a blast fell at him from above and he formed a shield above himself, gritting his teeth as it began to melt the shield.

"Man, this water's boiling hot!" Gray said, gritting his teeth. "I can't keep this up for long."

"Like I told you," Juvia said. "I am at my most powerful in the rain. You'll never be able to defeat me."

Just then, the blast crashed to the ground and she let it end, revealing a broken window.

"He used the steam as a smoke screen," Juvia said. "He's not just handsome, he's also smart too. I really am in love."

"Yes, yes you are," Ur chuckled, walking over as Juvia turned on her. "Whoa now, easy. I agreed to let him handle you, so you're all his."

"Are you my rival as well?" Juvia growled.

"Hardly," Ur laughed. "Gray's my student. He's like a son to me."

"I see," Juvia said. "Very well. If you'll excuse me, I must find my beloved."

Then, she held her arms out, scalding water crashing through a window further away before flooding back out through the one Gray had left, throwing Gray into the air.

"It's al over now!" Juvia shouted.

"Oh yeah!?" Gray shouted, holding his hands out, blocking the water, beginning to freeze it after a moment. "Freeze up!"

Finally, he finished freezing it, his hand in the ice pillar as well now. Ur walked over, stopping beside him before bending at the waist, bursting into fits of laughter. Gray had accidentally ended up grabbing Juvia's breast as he froze her.

"It's not what you think, I didn't mean to!" Gray shouted. "And stop fucking laughing Ur! It's not funny!" He ripped his hand back, the ice shattering and freeing Juvia. "Sorry!"

Juvia fell to he knees, staring up at him in awe, a blush spread across her cheeks.

"Hey, let's just start over, okay?" Gray asked.

"Let's not," Juvia said, standing. "Honestly I don't want to hurt you so there's no point in fighting anymore."

"Is this your weird way of admitting you can't beat me?" Gray asked, Ur snorting but managing to restrain her laugh, Gray shooting her a dark look.

"You know I'm much stronger than Lucy," Juvia said. "If you would let me, I would be happy to protect you."

"Protect me, like from what?" Gray asked.

"Well, anything that might hurt you," Juvia said, the rain intensifying. "Because, I think that you're, uh...you're so..."

"Is it just me or is this rain getting worse?" Gray asked.

"Oh this is so frustrating!" Juvia shouted.

"It just won't let up," Gray said. "Man this rain is so gloomy."

Juvia stared at him in shock and Ur sighed.

"Now you've done it Gray," Ur said.

"What's that mean!?" Gray demanded.

"Weren't you paying attention?" Ur asked. "It's always raining around her. It's practically a part of her. Calling it gloomy is calling her gloomy. And you really shouldn't insult a lady."

"A lady?" Gray blinked, turning to Juvia just as she fell to her knees. "Oh jeez. Listen, I'm-"

"How could you be so cruel!?" Juvia shrieked, scalding water spraying off of her.

A massive tsunami of it hit Gray, threatening to wash him away as he tried to freeze it, to no avail.

"I'm through with love, and I'm through with you!" Juvia shrieked, the wall of water she was firing at him growing even bigger and hotter. "I've lived my entire life as a gloomy rain woman, but Phantom Lord looked past that! They welcomed me with open arms! I am one of the Element Four! A proud Phantom Lord wizard!"

Suddenly, Gray flipped out of the water, landing on his feet as Juvia jumped, firing a blast of it down at him. He formed a shield, blocking the water.

"How can you be proud to be with them!?" Gray demanded. "You and your guild are going down!"

He swung his fist, his feet meeting his other palm and suddenly the blast of ice shot upward, freezing rapidly, barely missing Juvia, but all of the rain turned to ice as well, Juvia staring at it in shock as she fell.

"Ice Make Geyser!" Gray shouted, ice shooting up out of the ground and encasing Juvia before shattering, dropping her from too far out to land on the edge.

He rolled his eyes as his conscience got the better of him, sprinting forward and sliding down the roof below them, landing on a ledge below, catching Juvia by the hand. She stared up at him in shock and he sighed.

"Just hold on, okay?" Gray said. "I promise I won't let you fall."

He grit his teeth, pulling her up before climbing back up to the top of the roof, setting her down on her back and sitting beside her, sighing.

"Why did you save me?" Juvia asked.

"Just 'cause," Gray said. "Now get some rest." After a moment he sighed, glancing at her. "You good? Starting to cool down yet?"

Tears began to gather in Juvia's eyes just as the clouds began to part, Juvia staring up at it in awe.

"Hey look, the sun's coming out," Gray smiled.

"The blue sky," Juvia breathed. "I've never...seen it before."

"Seriously?" Gray asked. "Well there you go. Pretty, don't you think?"

"It is," Juvia nodded. "It's truly beautiful."

Gray smiled then turned to her. "So, you wanna go at it?"

Juvia squealed, blushing bright red before fainting.

"Hey!" Gray shouted, kneeling beside her, shaking her gently. "What's the matter? Is something wrong? Talk to me Juvia! Are you alright? Answer me!"

"My god, you really are clueless," Ur laughed, walking over. "You've gotten strong, but it looks like I should have taught you about girls more. You're completely clueless."

"What are you talking about?" Gray asked.

"She's fallen in love with you for having the magic that's a perfect match to hers, being handsome, and for showing her the sky and making the rain stop," Ur said, Gray staring at her incredulously. "Not to mention you saved her life after she tried to save you. Jeez. You're practically blind."

"But, why is she unconscious?" Gray asked.

"Really?" Ur asked, clearing her throat to mimic his voice. "You wanna go at it?"

Gray's eyes widened. "You think...she thought that I..."

His face turned bright red just as an explosion rocked the giant, smoke curling into the air above them, both turning to look up.

"Sado," Gray said. "He's fighting Jose."

"I see," Ur nodded. "He needs help."

"I wouldn't," Gray said. "When he's angry he's dangerous."

"You can sense it, can't you?" Ur asked. "This foreboding? If I don't go, he'll die."

"Please be careful," Gray said. "I don't want to lose you again."

Ur smiled, resting a hand on his shoulder before turning, holding her hands to the floor, a column of ice shooting her upward toward the top of the giant. Just as she arrived, Jose smashed Sado into the ground. She sent several spears of ice at Jose, making him flip backward, landing on the shoulder again as Ur landed over Sado. Sado groaned, head rolling to the side to see more and more phantoms forming around the Fairy Tail guild members again. Oh the other hand, the Abyss Break spell circle had faded altogether, and the robot had dropped to its knees, so whatever was powering it had been defeated.

He began to sit up just as Gajeel landed in front of Ur, slamming a punch into her gut and lifting her off the ground before slamming the same fist into her back and blasting her back into the ground. Then, he leap backward to Jose's side, dropping Lucy, who groaned in pain. Sado stood, flames flickering from his knuckles as Ur stood beside him.

"Stay out of this, Sado," Ur said. "You're in no shape to fight."

"I...have to," Sado said. "No one else...can challenge...Jose."

"Let me handle them," Ur said, stepping forward, putting her hands together, only for Gajeel to send out an Iron Dragon Club, slamming it into her face and throwing her backward to Sado, both crashing to the ground.

"Weaklings," Gajeel snorted. "To think you gave me trouble before, Phoenix. I guess it's a lie that Phoenixes rise from their ashes. Or, maybe you'll give me a challenge if I kill you. Let's find out. Iron Dragon Spear!"

A massive spear shot at Sado from Gajeel's arm, but before it could reach him, Elfman appeared, kicking it sideways as Erza shot at the pair of them from behind, shouting in rage, swords flying toward the pair rapidly. Both avoided it, Gajeel taking Lucy, only for Natsu to tackle Gajeel into a window behind him, all three of them falling into the giant somewhere. Sado stared at Erza, then at one of her swords, which had stabbed into the ground in front of him. He reached up, griping the handle and pushing himself up, pulling it out of the ground and feeling his legs wobble as Mira landed beside him, setting a hand on his shoulder.

"That's enough, Sado," Mira said. "You've fought long enough. Let us handle the rest."

"Can you though?" Jose asked, appearing in front of Mira and punching her, blasting her backward into a spike on the shoulder.

Sado slashed at Jose, who easily stepped out of range, smirking and kicking the sword away on the next swipe. Then, as he began to turn away from Sado, Sado drove a flaming sword blade into Jose's back, Jose shouting in pain and spinning, smashing Sado away before the blade could get more than a couple inches. Sado crashed down hard, groaning as Jose turned back to Elfman and Erza.

"Just you two now," Jose grinned.

Elfman charged, but before he was even halfway there, Jose held his arm out, a vortex or purple energy shooting out of his fist and blasting Elfman, sending him flying and making him revert to his human form. Erza charged, requipping into a suit of revealing black armor with a pair of wings along with a broad sword with no guard and a purple diamond at the base of the blade. She began to attack Jose rapidly, Jose avoiding the strikes, kicking or punching Erza away after every few. And still Erza kept going. Finally, he swung his arm upward, a trail of explosions shooting away from him, blasting Erza and continuing at Sado. Sado groaned, trying to stand only to collapse again. Then, Ur landed in front of him, a wall of ice roses shooting up in front of them, blocking the explosions. Jose smiled, back handing Erza and sending her tearing through the ground just as fire began to explode out of the giant lower down, demolishing most of the torso and making giant chunks of debris fall away. Sado smiled. Natsu had won. But he was probably down for the count.

Sado gripped one of Erza's scattered swords, using it to stand and support his weight as Ur's shield shattered, Jose turning to them. He grinned, flicking and a blast of magic energy slammed into both of them like a solid punch, throwing them away. Jose began to laugh.

"I'm impressed," Jose smirked. "You're actually doing rather well to still be able to get up. Especially you, Sado. You've lasted far longer than I expected. Quite the stubborn one you are. You know what I hate about Fairy Tail? The fact that there are so many powerful mages like you three all aligned to Makarov. Since none of you can be persuaded to join Phantom, there's only one way to fix that."

A purple sphere formed in front of his hand and Sado grabbed Ur, hurling himself to the side, throwing them off of the giant just before the blast of purple energy shot past, blasting a massive chunk of the shoulder off with it. He drove the sword into the giant's shoulder, but his grip failed and they fell a few more feet before Ur formed an ice ledge. She landed on it, Sado falling past only for her to catch his arm, dislocating his shoulder as his body whipped around to a stop.

"Hold on Sado!" Ur said, gritting her teeth and struggling to pull him up.

After a moment, she managed to get him on the platform and sighed, leaning back against the wall, breathing hard.

"We really miscalculated, didn't we?" Ur sighed, watching Sado's unconscious form lie on the ice. "Thank you for saving me again. We'd better get out of her before the ice breaks apart, though."

She put her hands together, forming the platform into a slide back to the others before sending Sado down it. As he reached the end, phantoms swarmed toward him only for Laki to disperse them with her Wood Make Magic, picking Sado up and carrying him to the others. Then, Ur turned, returning to the battle just in time to form a hammer and smash Jose away from Erza. Jose smirked, however, when a moment later, several dark tendrils of magic ending with a phantom's face shot out of the ground, wrapping around the pair and beginning to electrocute them. Both screamed in pain as the tendrils squeezed, the electricity intensifying.

"Time to say goodnight girls," Jose smirked.

He held his free hand up, a second spell circle forming in front of it as a pair of massive glowing purple skeletons formed, beginning to inhale. Both women screamed as pain arced through their entire bodies, a transparent silhouette of them forming in front of them, beginning to shake and wave as if caught in the wind as it was slowly being pulled from their bodies. Their souls, Ur realized. Then, just as Ur felt herself beginning to slip away, thunder cracked overhead and the clouds began to spiral as Jose's apparitions faced, Ur and Erza's souls sinking back into their bodies. Both women floated back to the ground as Makarov floated to the ground before them, glaring angrily at Jose.

"You have shed the blood of our children, and that is unforgivable," Makarov snarled. "They have been made to suffer because of the incompetence of their parents. We are both to blame, Jose. This war between us has gone on long enough. Let's end this here and now."

"If we fight it could create a catastrophe!" Jose warned, his sclera turning black as his magic energy skyrocketed, Makarov's magic doing the same.

Makarov's fingertip began to glow and he held it behind himself. "In order to save my guild I will gladly take that risk!"

Then, he held his hand out, a beam of energy shooting at Jose as Jose fired his own. Almost as soon as they met, however, Makarov appeared behind Jose, slamming him into the ground and kicking him away. Then, he landed on the ground, shaking his head.

"I'm not going to fight a protracted battle with you, Jose," Makarov said. "Too many of my children are too badly wounded for that. So I'll give you to the count of three to surrender."

"Excuse me?" Jose asked.

"One," Makarov growled, his power rising again.

"You want me to give up without trying?" Jose smirked. "Just like that? No way in hell!"

"Two," Makarov said, holding his hands a couple inches apart and forming two parts of a circle, one with the fingers going up and the other inverted, a ball of light forming between his hands.

"Why would the head of the top guild in the kingdom ever give up before even fighting?" Jose demanded, dark magic radiating from his right hand again. Technically, we are equally powerful, but my ability to be heartless makes me stronger!"

"Three," Makarov said, reversing the direction of his hands and which was higher as the ball of light began to grow.

"You are the one who should be surrendering to me!" Jose continued, oblivious to the fact that he had already lost. "Now you and your precious Fairy Tail children will all die!"

"Time's up!" Makarov said, clapping, the ball of light between his hands as Jose's dark magic began to be blown away by the light shining from between his hands. "Fairy Law!"

A massive golden spell circle appeared in the sky over them before the ball of light Makarov was holding shone blindingly, too bright for the wizards on shore to even keep their eyes open, even Sado stirring to look, simply staring into the light, unlike everyone else. Finally, the light faded, leaving Jose barely standing, quivering with fear and stripped of his magic, his hair and mustache having turned grey.

"You will never bother Fairy Tail again, understand?" Makarov said, turning to walk away. "The Magic council will probably be watching both of us after the trouble we've caused, so you'd better be on your best behavior. I know I will."

Suddenly, Aria appeared behind Makarov, only for Makarov's arm to stretch back, punching him into the wall.

"The war is over, so there's no point in fighting any longer," Makarov growled. "But, if you push me to the point of anger, I will wipe out your entire guild without hesitation. Now..." he turned, smiling kindly, his entire demeanor having changed. "You kids get outa here, and take Jose."

And with that, he picked up both Erza and Ur, flying them back to shore where the others were waiting, Mira sitting with Sado's head in her lap.

"We are victorious!" Makarov announced. "But I had very little to do with it. The victory is yours, my children."

Everyone began to cheer and Makarov walked over to Sado and Mira, sighing.

"He fought Jose, didn't he?" Makarov asked.

"Yes," Mirajane nodded. "He kept him busy while we tried to protect the guild."

"Take him to Porlyusica," Makarov said. "I'll see you both when you return."

Mira nodded, standing and lifting Sado, transforming into her she devil form and taking off.

* * *

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	14. Chapter 14

I do not own any of the original Fairy Tail characters.

* * *

Recovery

Sado groaned, eyes slowly creaking open. He stared up at the ceiling before his head rolled to the side, staring at Mira. He sighed, smiling slightly before looking past her to Porlyusica, who was making a bottle of one potion or another. He really didn't want to have to gag anything down but after his fight with Jose, his next meal would be the same anyway.

"How long was I out?" Sado asked.

"Two weeks," Mira said, smiling and wiping tears from her eyes as Porlyusica walked over with a potion.

He sighed but nodded, taking it and drinking it, grimacing but noticing he didn't start gagging. He was too tired for that, apparently.

"You're through the worst of it," Porlyusica said. "You should be back on your feet by tomorrow. And as soon as you are, you can leave. I'm tired of looking at you."

"Thank you for your help, Porlyusica," Sado said.

"You're welcome," she said, the barest hint of a smile flickering across her face before she turned, walking to the door and pushing it open. "He's awake."

After a moment, Makarov walked in, sitting in a chair beside Sado's bed.

"How are you feeling?" Makarov asked.

"Like I tried to fight one of the Ten Wizard Saints and lost," Sado said, Makarov grinning.

"I'm so proud of you, Sado," Makarov smiled.

"For losing?" Sado asked. "Anyone can lose, Master."

"But not everyone can keep trying even when they know there's no possible way they'll win," Makarov said. "I'm proud of you for stepping up and taking charge when you were needed. I'm proud of how well you planned out the battle. But most of all, I'm proud of you for doing everything you could to stop Jose and keep everyone safe."

"It wasn't enough," Sado said.

"It was," Makarov said. "You actually challenged Jose."

"Up until I let myself be hit by his Shade spell," Sado said. "Even before that I didn't have enough control to force myself to full power. If I had, maybe I could have won, but..."

"But you also would have put your friends in jeopardy," Makarov said. "I'm glad you didn't get to your full power. The day you reach full power is the day that my suppression spell is no longer able to help you control your power. The spell will break. Just as it did last time."

Sado nodded, sighing. "I suppose. How's everyone else?"

"Fully recovered," Makarov said. "We all had to answer some questions for the Council, but they decided to punish us at a later date. All of the evidence states that Phantom Lord started the fight, so we'll be fine. We're currently rebuilding the guild hall. Mira even had the genius idea to expand it."

"I even drew up the plans," Mira said, holding up a very poorly drawn picture of a building consisting of stick figures standing in various boxes to represent rooms.

Sado chuckled, wincing as his ribs throbbed painfully. "I love your drawings."

Mira's eyes began to water and he shook his head, smiling.

"I'm being serious," Sado smiled. "I think those look like wonderful plans."

Mira smiled, shaking her head. "I know I'm not an artist. You don't have to try and make me feel better."

"I'm not," Sado smiled, taking her hand. "I'm glad they're not perfect. Because it's people's flaws that make the rest of them beautiful."

Mira smiled, brushing her thumb over his fingers.

"Besides," Sado smiled. "They're still better than mine."

Mira laughed, nodding. "That's true. You're terrible at drawing."

Sado smiled, nodding as Makarov stood, heading for the door.

"Well, I'd better be getting back," Makarov said. "You kids be good now."

And with that, he closed the door behind himself and flew away. After several seconds, Mira lay down on the bed beside Sado, gently laying her head on his shoulder, Sado's arm wrapping around her, his other hand lacing its fingers with one of hers. Mira smiled and Sado tilted his head to the side, resting his cheek on top of her head, Mira snuggling into him in response.

* * *

Sado stepped into the partially rebuilt guild hall and smiled, looking around. Beside him, Mira also smiled.

"They made a lot of progress," Mira smiled.

"Yes they did," Sado smiled. "We're accepting jobs again, right?"

"That's right," Mira nodded.

Sado walked over to the board, scanning it and stopping on the biggest reward. He read the description, then reread it. There was no way that was right. A million jewel for one man and one woman to act as best man and maid of honor to a couple getting married. The poster also included the need to be good at impromptu speeches, ballroom dancing, and able to convince the families that you have actually known the couple for a very long time. He took the poster, walking back to Mira.

"Want to go have some fun?" he asked, showing her the poster, Mira smiling widely.

"Are you even able to dance?" Mira asked.

"Well, no," he said. "But we have a full week for you to teach me how."

"And the speech?" Mira asked.

"I'll think of something," Sado shrugged.

Mira smiled and nodded. Sado grinned and turned toward the door.

"I gotta get a tux," Sado said. "I'll meet you back here, okay?"

Mira nodded and Sado left, heading to Magnolia's tailor, walking inside as he knocked. The man looked up at him over his thin-rimmed glasses and raised an eyebrow.

"And how can I help you on this...fine day?" the man asked, grumpy as ever.

"I need a tux," Sado said. "Not as a groom, as a first man."

"Color?" the man asked.

"Not really sure," Sado said.

"Figures," the man sighed. "Take your shirt and pants off and step up on the stool." He pointed to the back, where Sado would be out of view of the public.

Sado did as instructed, the man also making him keep his shoes off as he measured him, also using several devices to measure the length, width, and thickness of each foot, as well as the dimensions of each arch.

"Would you like a tux you can possibly fight in?" the man asked.

"Yes please," Sado said.

The man nodded and allowed Sado to get dressed again before walking to the back. Then, he held his hands out over several rolls of fabric and thread. A sky blue spell circle spread from his hands, the fabric and thread springing to life, spinning together into a tux matching Sado's measurements, a pair of leather shoes even being made. After a moment, the man finished his spell and brought the tux back, holding it and the shoes out to Sado. Sado changed into it, smiling as it was a perfect fit and the shoes were literally formed to his feet.

"The left inside pocket of the jacket has a potion to change the color," the man said. "If you need to, put something with whatever color you need on the jacket, vest, and tie and put one drop of the potion on each. That will make the tux match the color."

"It's perfect," Sado said. "Thank you."

The man grunted and Sado payed him, then changed back into his tee shirt and pants and walked back to the guild. As soon as he stepped inside, people began to stare at the suit. Sado walked over to Mira, who had a suit case packed already for both of them. Sado opened his, packing the tux carefully before closing it and standing.

"Ready?" he asked.

Mira nodded and they left, heading out to meet their client at the train station.

* * *

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	15. Chapter 15

I do not own any of the original Fairy Tail characters.

* * *

Making Up

Sado walked along behind the man in silence, his eyebrow twitching. The short, fat, rich alcoholic in front of him was the client, and as such, Sado wasn't allowed to hit him, yell at him, or otherwise act as he wanted to. So far, the first four days Sado had been there, he had been dragged to three different bars, two different strip clubs, and one whore house in the back of a casino by the man. As of yet, the man had not gone anywhere without spending a couple thousand jewel to get a woman to open her legs for him. Finally, the man stopped at his next destination, a small wooden cube of a building with a large neon sign of two lesbians scissoring while each sucking a neon guy off. Sado grit his teeth as hard as he could, hands shoved into his pants pockets as he followed the man inside.

A few minutes, one bag of gold coins, and a line of a suspicious white powder later, and he had five moderately attractive and completely nude women around him, all pretending to like him and two of them groping each other while they counted out the coins they had been handed. Sado turned to the man as he heard a second money pouch jingle, the man holding it out to him.

"What now?" Sado growled.

"I want that one with silver hair over there," the man said, pointing.

Sado turned. Sado felt his entire body lock up as he stared across the room at Mirajane, who was currently fuming silently, standing several feet away from a large circular bed where the other customer, the man's bride to be, a woman slightly taller than her future husband and slightly fatter with as many rings as fingers and way too much lipstick, was lying on her back, one woman's nude backside sticking out of her dress, another woman touching herself beside the woman, and two muscular nude males having sex with both of the prostitutes.

"The one with silver hair isn't for sale," Sado snarled.

"Nonsense," the man said. "Any woman will fuck you as long as you flash enough gold."

"Not _that_ one," Sado snarled, actively restraining his flames now, Mira flashing him a worried look from across the room, seeing his expression but he shook his head.

"What, you think this isn't enough?" the man asked. "Fuck it. Here, take this one too, just in case." He held out a second bag.

"That's not a prostitute," Sado snarled. "That's my partner, the other wizard from Fairy Tail that you hired."

"Oh I see," the man said, holding out two more bags, four in total. "Here, this should get her attention. And this way, you two are making some extra money on the side. Not a bad deal, eh?"

"Listen to my words," Sado snarled, turning to the man, flames flickering around his hands, though the man was too out of it to notice. "She's. Not. For. Sale. Keep your _fucking_ money. She's off limits!"

The women around the man were giving him approving looks, but he ignored them completely, glaring daggers at the man.

"I hired you," the man snarled. "I can have the two of you do whatever I want. If I wanted to fuck her and dump inside of her, if I wanted to make that silver-haired whore have my brat, and if I wanted to make you watch the whole thing, I could. Until the job's done, I own-"

He was cut off by Sado grabbed him by the throat, lifting him up the wall a foot an a half so that he was dangling, all two hundred twenty pounds of fat. His eyes bugged out of his head in fear, the women all moving out of Sado's way, also grabbing the four bags of money that the man had offered to pay Mira.

"If you open your mouth about her one more time, I'll rip your tongue out of your skull and shove it up your urethra," Sado snarled, his free hand shooting flames three feet into the air. "You may have hired us, but you don't own us. We can walk away at any point in time. And you know what, I think we actually might. Good luck having a wedding with no best man or maid of honor. Not like your wedding's actually worth jack shit. You're over here paying prostitutes to pretend to like you, and your future _wife_ is over there paying women to pleasure her, a task that I'm actually very impressed they can even stomach to do, while she pays men to fuck the prostitutes. You two are, without a doubt, the worst people I've ever met, and I've met some pretty horrible people."

"Please!" the man choked out. "I'm sorry! I need your help! I'm sorry! Please don't quit!"

"If you say one more word about my partner, _one_ word, I'll make you regret the day you were born," Sado warned, the man nodding vigorously, starting to turn purple.

Sado dropped him, turning and walking away from him, storming out through the back door, Mira following. Once he was outside, he stopped, leaning against a wall, resting his fist against it then beginning to push, struggling to keep from punching it.

"Are you alright?" Mira asked.

"He's still breathing," Sado said.

"I don't give a damn about him," Mira said. "I asked if _you_ were alright."

Sado sighed, turning to her and leaning back against the wall, sliding to the ground and letting out a hollow laugh. "Not really. I'm amazed I didn't just crush his windpipe."

"What'd he want?" Mira asked.

"You," Sado said.

Mira sighed, nodding. "I thought as much. Mine tried to pay me to...well, she tried to hire me, anyway."

"Some pair, these two," Sado sighed.

"You're not kidding," Mira chuckled dryly. "It's only a few days. We just have to make it through a few days, then the wedding, the reception, and then we can go home. And we can leave the reception just after our speeches."

Sado sighed, nodding and tilting his head back, groaning. "And here I thought this might be a nice easy job."

"When have either of us ever been that lucky?" Mira asked, smiling.

"I suppose you're right," Sado sighed. "Well, better get back to it before our clients drink themselves to death."

Mira nodded, pulling him up and hugging him before they walked inside, returning to their respective client. The man eyed Sado warily for a bit, ignoring the woman and not noticing that they were ignoring him as well and talking about what they'd be spending their money on rather than doing what they were payed to do. Finally, the man stood.

"I'm done here," the man said, the women all disappearing almost as fast as if they had teleported. "Take me home. Please."

Sado stared at the man distastefully for a minute before nodding, walking out of the building, the man following. They returned to the man's mansion and the man went inside, slamming the door behind himself. Sado waited by the door and within a few minutes, Mira and the woman returned, the woman spitting on the ground in front of Sado before walking inside, Sado stepping over her spit and over to Mira, sighing and rubbing his eyes.

"I swear I might kill this man," Sado said.

"Come on," Mira said. "It's time for your dancing lesson."

Sado smiled, nodding. That was about the only good thing about the mission. Aside from the prospect of seeing what dress Mira would be wearing, which she had kept a surprise, promising him it was one he hadn't seen. Not exactly a hard thing to accomplish, given the number she had, but she promised he'd like it, so he didn't argue.

After a few minutes, they reached the hotel room they were staying in and Sado kicked his shoes off, pulling his dress shoes on as Mira walked over to a communications lacrima and called Lucy, who looked over at her from her desk.

"Hey Mira," Lucy greeted. "You're a little late, aren't you?"

"We had a bit of an...issue with the clients today," Mira smiled. "Is it alright for us to borrow Lyra now? Or should we call back later?"

"No no, now's fine," Lucy said, summoning Lyra.

"Hello again Miss Mirajane!" Lyra greeted happily.

"Hello Lyra," Mira smiled.

"Time for dance practice?" Lyra asked.

"If it's not too much trouble," Mira smiled.

"Not at all," Lyra smiled, beginning to play her harp.

Mira turned to Sado who held out a hand. Mira smiled, resting her own in his and he pulled her to him gently, left arm holding her right out to the side as his right hand rested on the back of her waist, her own free hand resting on his shoulder as they began to sway and spin to the music. Sado smiled, closing his eyes and allowing Lyra's music to wash over him as he enjoyed the dance. He could almost feel Mirajane doing the same. After a few minutes, the song slowed a bit and Mira slipped her hand out of his, wrapping both around his neck as his own both came to rest on her hips, Mira standing close enough now that she was actually pressed up against him, not that he minded in any way. He rested his forehead against her, smiling as he allowed himself to be lost in her presence.

Finally, after a few minutes, Lyra began to pick up the pace again and Mira and Sado transitioned to a quicker dance. Then, finally, Lyra let the music end and Sado sighed, smiling as he stepped back, holding Mira's hand in one of his own and bowing. Mira smiled, taking her hand back and curtseying. Then, she turned to the lacrima, smiling.

"Thank you Lyra," Mira smiled, Lyra nodding.

"See you tomorrow!" Lyra smiled, disappearing, the image in the lacrima fading.

Sado sighed, slipping his shoes off and sitting on the one bed in the room. "I am so not looking forward to tomorrow."

"Just think," Mira said. "Starting tomorrow, all they're allowed to do is set up for the wedding."

"I'm sure they've got other people payed to do it so that they can go to whore houses," Sado said. "Besides, even if they don't, I have no doubt they'll find a way to make it torture."

Mira put her hands on her hips, bending forward at the waist and puffing her cheeks out disapprovingly. "You really shouldn't be so negative. It's bad for your health."

"And you shouldn't make that face if you want me to be able to control myself around you," Sado said.

"Who said I wanted that?" Mira asked, smiling deviously as Sado sighed, laying back and draping an arm across his eyes.

After a moment, he felt Mira settle onto his lap, straddling him, hands on his lower ribs.

"Mira," Sado said, not looking at her.

"Personally, I'm really excited for tomorrow," Mira continued. "We'll be one day closer to finally not having to deal with these two anymore, I'll get to see you wearing your tux for the first time, and I'll get to dance with you again."

Sado chuckled to himself, moving his arm off of his face and smiling up at Mira. "You're correct on all of those points."

Mira smiled, hands lightly running over his ribs and abdomen before slowly working their way up his sides.

"Mira," Sado sighed. "Please. Don't make me."

Mira simply smiled, a devious twinkle in her eyes. Sado's widened less than a second before she struck. His body contorted as her fingers scrambled across the sensitive skin under his arms, the sensitivity suddenly, and for seemingly no reason, covering the rest of his torso as well. He grit his teeth, refusing to give her the satisfaction, at least until she managed to get a couple fingers under his chin. He began to laugh through his teeth and Mira cheered triumphantly just before he grabbed her, rolling her over and pinning her to the bed, her hands trapped under his knees, Sado making a show of cracking his knuckles as Mira gulped dramatically.

"My turn," Sado grinned, Mira's eyes widening.

His hands started at her neck, Mira thrashing and squealing with laughter instantly, fighting desperately to break free. Whenever her head would go in one direction, the hand that couldn't get to her neck anymore would flash down to her armpit while the other hand worked her neck. Then, she would tilt her head the other way, his hands switching. Finally she managed to free her hands enough to shrug and both his hands moved down, slipping under her arms and making her squeal again, laughter bubbling out of her as tears ran down her cheeks and she struggled to get even one hand free. Finally she did, only for Sado to catch it before she could retaliate, pinning it over her head again, moving her other hand up to it as well but stopping tickling her for a moment, grinning wickedly.

"Please, no!" Mira pleaded, trying not to laugh already.

Then, he had her hands pinned with a foot, both hands tickling her feet, Mira laughing uncontrollably as he did. Then, before he had realized she had even moved, she was out from under him, flipping him onto his back and going back to work on him. He choked out a single laugh before trapping both wrists under his arms, just far enough that her hands couldn't reach back to him. Then, he pulled her down to himself, rolling them over, and sitting up, trapping her hands with his own by lacing their fingers together. Mira stopped, grinning up at him as both tried to catch their breath, sharing a smile. Then, Sado's slowly began to fall away. Mira's smile all but vanished as her eyes left his, guilt and shame filling them.

"Mira," Sado said, Mirajane turning back to him. "I love you."

Mirajane's eyes widened a little before she smiled, fresh tears forming in her eyes. "I love you too."

Sado smiled, pulling Mirajane up to himself, meeting her with a kiss. She kissed him back instantly, hands slowly slipping out of his in favor of her arms wrapping around his neck, his own wrapping around her waist. He rolled them over so she was in his lap before laying back, Mirajane never once separating from him. Finally, after a couple of minute, they separated to breathe and he reached up, wiping her tears away. She caught his hand, kissing his palm before lacing their fingers back together, smiling. He reached up, capturing her lips again and she sighed, returning the kiss, settling her weight on him, her other hand beginning to comb through his hair, his own free hand remaining exactly where it was, resting on the small of her back, fingers trailing small circles over the base of her spine through her dress. Suddenly, he was disappointed that she wore them. They were bulky and a pain in the neck to take off. He smiled slightly into the kiss at that thought.

Mirajane trailed her tongue hesitantly across Sado's bottom lip, only for his own to meet hers almost instantly. Mirajane let out a noise somewhere between a sigh and a moan, their tongues dancing for several seconds. After a moment, Sado pulled back from the kiss, moving to gently kiss just under Mira's jawline on her left side, Mira gasping quietly before whimpering as he trailed his tongue a couple inches and kissed again, this time just below her ear. As he did, his hand slipped out of hers, sliding down her back to meet the other just as both slid lower, earning a quiet moan. Sado moved back up, kissing Mira again and she kissed him back, both hands tangling their fingers in his hair now, her hips shifting slightly as he massaged her rear. Suddenly, an image of Mira on her hands and knees and a stranger behind her flashed into his head, and he froze for half a second before forcing it away, continuing. Mira had noticed, however, and reached back, catching one of his hands as she sat up, smiling sadly as tears formed but didn't fall.

"I'm so sorry," Mira said.

"I know," Sado said. "I know you are. And I'm not mad. I don't care what happened. It's enough for me to be able to be with you."

Mira smiled and nodded, bending down and kissing him lightly before pulling away, standing and walking into the bathroom with a nightgown. Sado sighed, covering his eyes with his hands, the image returning as his chest compressed. He forced the image away again, moving up to lay his head on a pillow, slipping his shirt and pants off and slipping under the blankets. After a few minutes, Mira walked out, climbing under the sheets with him, laying her head on his shoulder. He slipped an arm under her, hand combing lightly through her hair as he stared at the ceiling, the image again plaguing his thoughts, try as he might. Now matter how many times he told himself he didn't care, or how many times he reminded himself that Mira loved him, and waited for him after he left her, with no real promise that he would ever come back, still the knowledge that every part of her that he loved had been shown to others weighed down on him. He hated that fact. He simply wasn't first. Selfish in and of itself, maybe. Maybe even given the fact that she had been cheating on him. But still. It hurt.

"Sado," Mira said, looking up at him knowingly.

"Hm?"

"I know it's not much, but I never once kissed any of them," Mira said, Sado staring at her. "It's not much, and it's not very significant in comparison, but that, at least, is something I've never allowed anyone but you to have."

Slowly, a small smile grew over Sado's face and he reached down, kissing her lightly. "It's enough. Thank you, Mira. For loving me."

"I'll always love you," Mira smiled, kissing him before cuddling into his side.

* * *

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	16. Chapter 16

I do not own any of the original Fairy Tail characters.

* * *

After Party

Sado glanced at the man out of the corner of his eye again, resisting the urge to burn him. The man had chosen to wear a maroon tuxedo, and had Sado stay in black. Sado was grateful for that. He preferred black. The problem was that they were standing on the alter and the man was tapping his foot and checking his watch every few seconds, his arms otherwise crossed over his chest. Sado sighed in relief as the piano finally began to play. He looked down the aisle, watching as a one-year-old girl stumbled down the aisle, babbling as she went, flower petals falling to the ground from the back of her light purple dress. Sado grinned as he saw her using the empty basket for balance. She was a natural genius. He looked past her to where the three-year-old boy with the rings on a pillow made his way down the aisle, pillow held above himself like it was some trophy he had won.

Finally, Sado's eyes flicked back up the aisle and he froze. An angel was walking down the aisle, smiling, her white hair falling straight down to about the middle of her back with two long parts hanging down the front and her bangs gathered into an elastic band in the front, the hair color matching the pure white dress she wore. It wasn't like her usual style. This one was slim and looked like silk, or maybe satin. It had thin straps over her shoulders, the top of the dress started just outside her collar bones then swept low into a V halfway down her cleavage. There was a slit on the right side that reached up to just above her knee, and the bottom hun about an inch above her white heels. She wore a pair of white gloves that reached up to about mid-bicep. It took almost a full second for Sado's brain to realize that this was Mira. Longer still for it to remember that he wasn't the groom and she wasn't the bride.

The next thing his brain realized was that the pianist had mistaken Mira for the bride and was playing "Here Comes the Bride." Sado looked to the groom. The groom stared at her in surprise before grinning widely and standing up straighter. Sado cleared his throat and the groom glanced at him before deflating. Mira reached the alter, smiling at Sado form her place just as the actual bride walked in, wearing a red dress that was too long and hung too low on her obese body. She walked up to the alter, taking her place and the pianist stopped playing, Sado and Mira taking their rings, both staring at it, shocked that anyone would need a ring that big, before looking to the bride and groom, remembering who they were working for. The preacher presiding over the wedding began his speech, each compliment or statement about how happy everyone should be, of which there were very few, sounding forced. Then, he asked for the rings, Mira and Sado passing them off. Then, the preacher recited a decidedly shortened version of the regular vows, leaving out the part about being poor, the "for worse," and the part about "until death do you part." Sado was pretty sure that wasn't how they were supposed to go, but he wanted to get away from the couple just as much as he was certain the preacher did. Both of the clients said their "I do"s and Sado fought back a gag as they shared a tongue kiss, several people attending the wedding cringing.

Finally the pianist began to play them out and Sado snickered into his hand as the entire room watched them have to go single file to fit down the aisle. Then, he walked to the aisle, holding his arm out to Mira, who slipped her arm through it, slipping her hand into his and lacing their fingers together. Sado smiled happily, walking down the aisle with her, several people around them commenting on how beautiful Mira was. Finally, they were out of the church that the clients owned, seeing the couple getting into a limo to be driven the five hundred meters to the mansion that the clients owned where the reception would be held. As Sado and Mira walked, their hands remaining linked as they did, Sado smiled over at her, Mira doing the same.

"You look absolutely beautiful," Sado smiled.

"You clean up pretty well yourself," Mira smiled.

They reached the mansion and walked to the ball room where the couple were sitting at their table, waiting impatiently. To be honest, the mansion was beautiful, the ball room even more so. The room was a huge oval with the bridal party's table off to the left, and a fifteen tier cake on the far end of the room, with a table piled high with wedding gifts to the right of it and a table of alcoholic punch and crack brownies and cookies to the left of it.

Sado and Mira separated, sitting on their respective sides as the guests began to arrive, all arriving relatively quickly. Sado glared at the groom, who was staring sideways, somehow managing to see past his gigantic wife, and leering at Mira, who was desperately trying to ignore him. Sado felt his hands beginning to heat up just as an idea formed in his mind. He couldn't kill the man without getting Fairy Tail disbanded. But he had been payed up front, thank god, so there _was_ one way he could make him pay.

Sado stood, the groom catching his arm.

"Remember, I'm a good man, my wife's lucky to have me, I'm faithful, and I'm rich," the groom hissed.

"Relax, I have the absolutely perfect toast," Sado said, tapping the side of his champaign glass with a fork, everyone falling silent, staring at him expectantly. He looked sideways at Mira and grinned, winking. "Thank you all for coming, I promise I'll make this quick. I would like to toast my friend's wedding." He saw the groom sit up straighter. "Unfortunately, I have no friends getting married today."

"What!?" the groom demanded.

"You see, until a week ago, I didn't even know this man or his pet hippo, I mean wife," Sado continued, a few people in the room snorting in amusement, though most simply stared at him in utter shock. He glanced at Mira, seeing her restraining a grin, nodding slightly to tell him to continue. "Allow me to properly introduce myself. I'm a wizard who found an offer of one million jewel to act as the best man in a wedding. The maid of honor is my partner. At first, my thought was, well for that price, it's got to be because there's an assassin after them. After all, why else would you need a wizard as your best man and maid of honor. However, ever since I've been here, one thing has become clear. They hired us because we didn't know any better than to accept. And the reason for us being payed up front was because they knew that one million was nowhere near enough to have to deal with the pair of them. In the last week alone, the week of his wedding, let me remind you, this man has gone to eight different bars, four different strip clubs, two _different_ whore houses hidden in the back of a casino, and two different whore houses that don't even bother to hide what they are."

"What the hell are you doing!?" the groom demanded.

"In doing all of this," Sado continued, "this man has had sex with over a dozen different women, paying at least five to do so, has used illegal drugs on eight different occasions, and even went so far as to attempt to hire my partner as a prostitute even after finding out that she was not, in fact, a prostitute. He is, without a doubt, the single worst man I have ever met, and I've met some truly awful people before. So, thank you for coming to the wedding and reception, enjoy the booze, and thank you for listening." He drained his champaign and sat down, grinning wickedly as he turned to the groom, eyes narrowing dangerously. "I warned you that you would regret it if you didn't keep your eyes off of my partner. There's more than one way to make someone pay."

Mira stood and the bride looked to her fearfully.

"Please don't," the bride pleaded.

"As my partner said, I'm also a wizard hired to pretend to like this woman," Mira said. "In truth, it was all I could do to not rip her head off this week. In this week, she has gone to twelve strip clubs and the same sleazy whore house that advertises what it is with its neon sign eight times. This week alone, she has payed over two dozen different women to have sex with her, and I can only imagine how hard it must have been for them to refuse that money, she has payed over three dozen different men to have sex with those prostitutes while those prostitutes were pleasuring her, and she has payed four men to have sex with her, three of which actually did refuse. Apparently, she and her husband also share an interest, because she offered me four million jewel to have sex with her the second day I was here, and then six million just yesterday. She has used illegal drugs exactly twenty two times, and forced three prostitutes to do the same, despite their repeated refusals. I truly regret ever having accepted this mission for only one million jewel. Thirty million would be low balling for having to deal with these two. So, I propose a toast to the two most horrible people on the planet."

She drained her champaign as Sado "Whoop"ed in agreement, filling his cup with water and draining it. The bride and groom stared at their respective assigned wizard before jumping up, the groom's face flushing in rage as he turned to Sado, opening his mouth, only for Sado to narrow his eyes at him, his hand lighting on fire under the table, where the table cloth hid it from view. The groom paled before turning red again as he grabbed his wife by the hand, storming out of the room. As soon as the doors slammed closed, Sado stood again, smiling pleasantly.

"I apologize for ruining the mood," Sado said. "Allow me to make it up to you all. Cana!"

The doors burst open again as Cana walked in, carrying a stack of beer kegs as several men followed her in with harder drinks ranging from wine to liquor. As soon as all of the drinks were, in, Cana set a lacrima on an unused table at the back, party music blaring from it instantly.

"All drinks are free!" Cana announced over the music. "Help yourselves!"

The effect was instant. People were scrambling to get drinks instantly, all of the tables being pushed out of the way to clear the dance floor. Sado grinned as Mira sat down beside him, smiling.

"Did we really get payed up front?" Mira asked.

"Sure did," Sado nodded. "I think Master Makarov might be a little mad about us embarrassing out clients."

"Probably," Mira nodded."

After a couple of songs, Sado caught Cana grinning at him as the music slowed. He grinned, rolling his eyes and standing, bowing and extending his hand to Mira.

"May I have this dance?" Sado asked.

Mira smiled, accepting and allowing him to guide her to the dance floor, his arms resting on her waist as hers landed on his shoulders. They both smiled, enjoying being close to the other, even without speaking. Finally, Sado leaned in, Mira meeting him halfway. As they kissed, Mira's left hand moved to the back of his head and his arms slipped around behind her, a grin growing on his face as he felt the bare skin of her back. He was already low on her back. She was right when she said it would be a dress he had never seen and one he'd love. He slowly let one hand slide lower, inching its way lower, searing for where the dress started. Just as he began to get afraid that he would need to find her something decent to wear, his fingers finally found fabric, the dress starting at the curve of her waist, barely two inches above her rear's cleavage. He grinned widely as his hand slowly made it way back up to the other, Sado pulling back from the kiss, seeing the spark of mischief in her eyes.

"You were right," Sado smiled. "I absolutely love that dress."

Mira smiled and Sado glanced to the side, seeing Cana grinning at them.

"We should probably bail soon," Sado said.

"Why?" Mira asked.

"Because this long in a tuxedo is torture," Sado said. "My back itches and I can't reach to scratch it."

Mira laughed, nodding. "Alright. Let's go."

Sado nodded, checking to make sure Cana couldn't see them before taking Mira's hand and leading her out of the room before Cana could notice they were gone. Not that it mattered. He knew that as soon as she noticed they were gone she'd go running back to Fairy Tail. Sado smirked at the thought of all the taunting he'd be in for when he got back to the guild. He opened the door to their hotel room and Mira walked in, sitting on the bed and pulling her gloves and heels off, setting them both neatly beside the bed, the gloves folded and placed inside the heels to keep them clean. Then, she turned, watching as Sado took his bowtie and jacket off and tossed them into a chair, unbuttoning his shirt two buttons before pressing his back against a corner and moving side to side and up and down, scratching it. Then, he stepped away from the corner, reaching back and scratching it with his thumb nail. Mira laughed and he dropped onto his back on the bed, groaning and kicking his shoes across the room, pulling his socks off and tossing them in the general direction of the shoes. He sighed in relief, reaching up to scratch his forehead then dropping his arm back out to the side.

"God it's been a long week," Sado sighed. "I'm so glad we're done."

"So am I," Mira smiled. "I can't believe we actually drove them out of their own wedding reception."

Sado laughed. "That was probably the highlight of my week. Well, second best."

He smiled up at her and she smiled back, leaning down and kissing him. He kissed her back, both staying there for a moment before Mira swung a leg over him, settling on top of him, pulling back and smiling.

"You really do look handsome in a tux," Mira smiled.

"And you look like an angel in that dress," Sado said. "Even more so than usual."

Mira rolled her eyes, kissing him again before sitting up, only for Sado to follow her, recapturing her lips. She sighed happily, wrapping her arms around his neck, one hand tangling in his hair. His own hands fell to rest on her thighs, one outside of the dress, and one on her bare thigh through the slit. After a moment, he slid his tongue across her bottom lip, Mira granting him access instantly, their tongue's beginning to dance. Sado's hands began to slide up and back, soon coming to rest on her rear, kneading and massaging it, earning a moan from Mira. Then, his fingertips met and he froze.

 _There's no way,_ he thought. _She did not. She wouldn't. Right?_

Mira pulled back as he opened his eyes, staring at her as she grinned mischievously, standing at the foot of the bed and turning away from him, smiling seductively back at him and slipping the shoulder straps off. Then, the dress began to slide down her body slowly, working its way down a millimeter at a time, before falling to the floor. He had known that she wasn't wearing a bra, since there was no way to hide it in that dress, but as the dress fell to the floor, he realized that she had also neglected to wear panties, leaving her now completely nude as she stepped out of the dress, kicking it aside. She smiled even wider as she saw his condition, turning back toward him with her right hand covering her nethers and her left arm across her breasts for modesty. Then, she slowly walked back to the bed, uncovering herself as she set her hands on his shoulders, straddling his lap again and grinning as he stared at her still.

"Forget an angel," he finally said. "You're a goddess."

"A goddess?" Mira laughed. "Not some evil creature that seduces her victims before she kills them?"

"Not looking like that," Sado said, Mira grinning and shaking her head before kissing him.

He kissed her back, their tongues reuniting as his hands returned to her rear, Mira moaning slightly as they did. After a couple more moments, he pulled back from the kiss, beginning to trail kisses along the underside of her jaw, moving to her left side. He gave her a teasing lick every few inches or so, earning a couple of moans. Then, when he reached the sensitive spot below her left ear, she let out an aroused whimper and he stopped, focussing on the spot as his hands slid up her sides, cupping her breasts and beginning to knead them, toying with her nipples lightly as he did, earning a much louder moan. Finally, he began to trail kisses and licks down the side of her neck, pausing to suckle at her pulse point when she moaned, then again at the nape of her neck, which he knew was very sensitive. Then, he continued lower, passing her collarbone and earning a moan as he bean to worship every inch of her breasts. Finally, he moved to her left nipple, taking it into his mouth and beginning to suckle on it, his left hand keeping her right breast happy as his right hand slid back down to her rear. After a couple of minutes, he bet down gently on her rock-hard nipple, rolling it gently between his teeth, earning a hoarse moan. Then, finally, he released her nipple, switching to the other as his hands switched placement.

After a few minutes of that, he reached back up, kissing her as he lay back, his hands finding hers, interlocking their fingers. Mira sighed happily as their tongues danced. Then, he rolled them over, beginning to kiss his way down her body again, taking several moments to worship her breasts again before continuing lower. He trailed his tongue in a circle around her navel before slipping it inside and back out, earning a quiet moan from her before he grinned, slipping his hands out of hers as he continued downward. He reached her freshly shaved, and perfectly smooth, pelvis and she moaned, shifting slightly, trying to guide him to her core, only for him to divert down her right leg, passing within millimeters of where she wanted him, then kissing his way down her leg to her foot and starting back up. As he neared her core, he slowed, Mira whimpering in need as he neared it, only for him to skip to the other leg, starting down again. Then, he worked his way back up, feeling Mira's hands tangle in his hair as he neared it this time, forbidding him from going down the other leg again. He smiled as he reached the top of her leg again, kissing his way back up to her pelvis only for her to groan in frustration, the groan turning into a hoarse moan as he dropped down, tongue trailing down through her slit, starting to work its way up and down.

As he was making his way back up, his tongue found a small hardened nub of flesh that earned an instant gasp and roll of her hips, and he circled it a few times before working his way back down, dragging his tongue across her entrance on the way down and back up, Mira moaning loudly as he worked. Gildarts's stories about sex, try as he might to have ignored and forget them, drifted through his mind as his tongue worked up and down her folds, Mira's hips starting to rock steadily, her juices coating them thickly. Gildarts had compared what he was doing to a really weird kiss with a bitter taste, but worth it since girls enjoyed it. Sado fully disagreed. He thought it was kind of fun, and Mira didn't taste bitter at all. She tasted sweet. Addictively so.

He trailed his tongue down to her entrance again, moving his head as close as he could and pushing his tongue inside of her, Mira gasping then moaning as he wiggled his tongue around, trying to collect as much of her juices as he could, dragging his tongue back out and pushing it back in a few times. Mira's hips rocked against his head as he worked, before her hands gripped the sides of his head, gently pulling him back up. He followed her guidance, moving back up to kiss her, his left hand slipping back into her right.

Mira moaned loudly as their tongues met and she tasted herself. He smiled, continuing to kiss her as his right hand slid down her body to her core, beginning to run his middle finger up and down through her slit, being careful to make a few small quick circles over her clit each time he reached the top. Mira moaned loudly, hips rocking against his hand as he did, their tongues continuing to duel. Then, he slipped two fingers into her tunnel, Mira breaking the kiss to moan loudly, Sado moving to kiss her neck, his thumb working her clit quickly as he thrust his fingers. He started out fairly slowly, but when Mira's hips began to rock against his hand as she moaned, he sped up. Mira's breathing began to pick up and he smiled as something else Gildarts had talked about returned to him. He pushed his fingers all the way in, curling them forward and feeling a small knot about as big around as the tip of his pinky finger. In response to him finding it, Mira's hips jerked and she cried out in pleasure. He pulled his fingers back then thrust in, careful to hit that spot when he did and Mira moaned loudly, hips rocking more quickly. Sado began to repeat the process, speeding up as he did and moved down to her breasts, taking a nipple into his mouth. Mira began to moan almost constantly, gasping for breath in between. As Sado continued, the moans began to grow progressively louder and more desperate, her voice cracking and her brow furrowing.

Then, suddenly, she cried out in pleasure, louder than before as her insides clamped down on Sado's fingers, beginning quiver, spasms running through them every couple of seconds while seeming to milk his fingers. At the same time, her juices began to squirt out of her entrance around his fingers. He smiled, moving down and locking his lips around her clit, flicking it with his tongue for a moment before biting down on it and rolling it between his teeth as he had her nipple, except much, much more carefully and gently. At the same time, he curled his fingers once again to that spot, needing considerably more force this time, thanks to the vice-like grip her inner walls had on his fingers. Once he found the spot, he began to drag his fingers up and down over it, Mira crying out again as he did, her entire body beginning to spasm from the orgasm now. She continued to cry out as her hips bucked and shook, almost a full minute passing before she finally grabbed his arm, Sado slipping his fingers back out of her finally and moving up, muffling her cries with his lips, Mira kissing him back instantly, their tongues dueling for a few seconds before she began to come back down from her orgasm. Sado rolled them over, pulling her onto his chest and kissed her again, the kiss slow and chaste this time, her body still trembling and jerking ever few seconds, but it _was_ subsiding.

Finally, Mira set her head on his chest, staring up at him, eyes slightly wider than normal, a slightly awed expression on her face. "That was...I...I've never..."

Sado stared at her in surprise. "What, never? In all the times you've...you've never once..."

"No," Mira said. "They're usually too concerned with themselves. None of them have ever once...done that."

"What, any of it?" Sado asked, Mira shaking her head.

Sado was actually surprised about that. After hearing Gildarts's stories so many times, despite literally begging him not to talk about it on several occasions, Gildarts refusing on the grounds that he "needs to know these things," he had thought that all guys did stuff like that. He wasn't sure whether to be offended for her that she had never finished before or to be ecstatic that he got to be the first to make her. He decided on both.

"Well, I'm honored to be able to be the first," Sado smiled.

Mira smiled up at him as well, reaching up and kissing him. For a moment, it was slow, but then they both reached out with their tongues, meeting halfway as their tongues began to dance. As they kissed, he felt her unbuttoning his shirt and sat up as she got the last one, shrugging it off and throwing it off the bed before finally breaking the kiss to take his undershirt off, tossing it aside as well before recapturing her lips. He lay back down again as her hands began to trace the lean muscles of his torso. He wasn't exceptionally built like Elfman, or perfectly cut and toned like Gray and Natsu. He was somewhere in the middle, a little more bulk than Gray and Natsu, but less toned. After another moment of tracing his muscles, Sado felt Mira's hand continue downward, slipping into his pants and wrapping her soft, delicate fingers around his shaft, stroking it slowly, shifting her hips back a bit to give herself room.

After a minute, she slipped her hand back out, undoing the hook at the top and pulling the zipper down, Sado lifting his hips so she could pull his pants and underwear down, pulling them off and tossing them over in the general direction of the shirts he had discarded. Then, she kissed him again, hand returning to its work for several seconds before she pulled back, that mischievous spark that he was quickly learning to both love and fear shining in her eye.

"I have an idea," Mira said. "I've never tried this before, but I'll try my best."

She climbed off the bed, beckoning him to the edge of it, Sado complying. She smiled, taking his member in her hand once again, pausing to stare at it for a moment, eyes widening slightly in surprise before she smiled. He had never once wanted to know what average was for a guy, nor had he ever measure himself. He had never asked what other guys were like Gildarts said every guy did. He didn't want to know how he compared. All of this, Mira knew.

"Just so you know, you're big," Mira smiled up at him, Sado actually managing to blush, despite what they had done and were in the middle of doing.

Then, he groaned, dropping back onto the bed as she leaned forward, her tongue dragging up his shaft from base to tip before she wrapped her lips around the tip, her tongue trailing over the end of it inside her mouth. Then, she began to bob her head up and down slowly, tongue rubbing against his shaft and head as she would lower her head, then drag back up it when she would pull back. Sado moaned at the feeling of her warm wet tongue and mouth sliding against his member. Then, she paused as she reached the bottom of her stroke, inhaling through her nose before beginning to sink lower, Sado moaning again as he felt himself starting to slide down her throat. Then, she began to bob her head again, getting all the way down each time now. Sado groaned at the feeling, hips involuntarily beginning to try to thrust slightly, Sado actively restraining them. Then, she began to hum as she bobbed her head faster, and Sado felt his balls tighten in response, groaning loudly. He sat up to look at her, only for her to grin knowingly. She bottomed out before bobbing her head back and forth slightly several times in quick succession and he dropped back to the bed, groaning loudly as his member began to pump his seed directly into her throat. She began to swallow, her throat squeezing and seemingly milking his member as she did, making him moan and involuntarily thrust once.

After a few seconds, she pulled back, swallowing whatever was left in her mouth just as one last spurt hit her just below her right eye. She smiled, wiping it off and then sucking it off of her fingers, swallowing it and smiling. Sado pulled her to him, kissing her, internally cringing as he tasted his own semen. It was salty and bitter, but after about a second, what remained of Mira's taste cancelled out his own. As they kissed, Mira gently pushed Sado onto his back, pulling back and smiling down at him as she lifted up, gripping his shaft and lining it up with her entrance. Then, she began to lower herself, moaning loudly as his member disappeared into her, inch by inch, Sado moaning along with her. Finally, she settled on his lap, an inch or two of his member still outside of her but her hips resting on top of his own. Sado waited for her to adjust, thumb rubbing her clit lightly in small circles to help her, Mira moaning loudly as he did.

Finally, she slipped her hands into his, lacing their fingers together before beginning to pick her hips up then allow them to settle again. Sado groaned as she did, Mira moaning each time he entered her again. After a few repetitions, she began to pick up the pace, moaning more loudly as her breath began to quicken. Sado lay still at first, alternating between watching her face contort in pleasure as she moved up and down, and watching his member disappear almost completely inside of her hot tunnel again and again. He now fully understood what Gildarts meant when he said sex was more addictive than any drug. The feeling of her slick inner walls running up and down his member quickly was completely indescribable. However, as amazing as it felt, something began to nag at the back of his mind. As if there was something wrong, or he was missing something. He slipped his hands out of hers, Mira bracing herself on his shoulders instead as he gripped her hips, beginning to thrust up into her in time with her downward strokes, pulling her hips each time to increase the force and to help keep rhythm, their hips slapping slightly as they connected. Mira's already loud moans began to grow louder, more hoarse. Still feeling as though there was something wrong, he slid his right hand inward slightly, his thumb beginning to play with her clit, deciding maybe he felt guilty for not making sure she felt as much pleasure as she could. Again her moans climbed in volume, but again he felt as if something was missing.

Mira seemed to sense it, however, because after another few strokes she lifted up off of him, making his hands slip off her hips as she crawled past him to the head of the bed, looking back at him. He took the hint instantly and got on his knees behind her, pushing back in and earning a moan before beginning to thrust into her, hands on her hips, once again pulling her into him with each thrust, their hips again slapping against each others with each thrust. This time, however, he was able to fit the entirety of his member into her, getting deeper than before, Mirajane moaning all the louder for it. However, after half a few minutes, he felt the same sensation return, stronger this time. He tried to force it away, leaning forward and wrapping one arm under her, beginning to massage one breast while his other hand slipped between her legs, lightly rubbing small quick circles over her clit. Mira began to cry out in pleasure in response to his attentiveness, yet still that feeling remained, seeming all the stronger for his attempts to ignore it. Then, the image of Mira on her knees with a stranger behind her once again flashed through his head and he sucked in a breath, understanding what was wrong with the position they were in. It was the same as she was in when he walked in on her.

Mira glanced back at him as he gasped and seemed to realize what was wrong, because she leaned forward, making him slip out of her, then rolled onto her back, spreading her legs. He lined himself up, pushing into her and resuming his strokes, Mira's head tilting back, eyes half-lidded and moaning loudly. Sado's hands were on either side of his shoulders, but as that same feeling began to make itself known again, he shifted his weight to his left hand, moving his right to her clit, fighting desperately to ignore it and silently praying that it would go away. It didn't, however, and instead simply began to grow stronger again, bringing with it a tidal wave of frustration. He grit his teeth, hot tears, born of frustration at not being able to figure out what was wrong, and not being able to simply enjoy finally being with Mira fully, began to sting his eyes, sliding down his cheeks despite his best attempts to fight them back. He choked back a strangled sob.

 _What the hell's wrong with me?_ he thought angrily. _I should be overjoyed that I can finally be with Mira like this and instead I'm fucking crying!_

Mira looked up at him, sympathy and guilt playing across her face as she smiled sadly, reaching up to cup his cheek, her thumb wiping away his tears. Then, she gently pulled him down into a kiss, the kiss somehow slow and innocent despite the fact that he was still thrusting into her and her hips were still rocking back against him in time with his thrusts. And just like that, the feeling evaporated.

Sado sighed in relief, speeding up his thumb's circles on her clit and bending his arm, supporting himself on his forearm as he laced his fingers with hers. Mira let out something between a whimper and a moan, the sound muffled by the kiss, and he felt her insides beginning to tremble. He smiled, trailing his tongue along her bottom lip and she happily allowed him access, her own tongue meeting his as they began to fight for dominance. The kiss began to grow more passionate quickly before Mira had to pull away to breath, beginning to cry out in pleasure almost instantly, even louder than when she had finished before. He suddenly realized that she had been struggling to control herself during the kiss for his sake and he smiled, feeling his eyes tingle as he started to tear up again and mentally kicking himself.

 _Jesus, what the hell's wrong with me?_ he thought. _Am I really the guy to cry during sex this much? God dammit!_

He began to kiss and suckle at the pulse point of her neck, as it seemed to be the most sensitive of the three spots on her neck, and that seemed to be all the push Mira needed as she suddenly screamed in pleasure before her voice failed altogether, her body arching off of the bed, juices squirting out of her again, toes curling and her free hand clutching at his back desperately, fingernails biting into his skin. He continued to thrust into her, continuing to toy with her clit and suckle at her pulse point even as her insides spasmed and milked at his member, squeezing it like a vice and making his own end shoot toward him rapidly. He fought it back, not wanting to have to stop yet. Finally, he heard Mira let out a strangled, anguished cross between a whimper, a sob, and a very weak moan as her hand slipped out of his, her other hand also moving down to catch her clit and he moved his hand up, using it to support his weight again as he forced himself to stop, her insides still spasming around him. She was gasping and panting for breath, face contorted in pleasure, as her body jerked each time her insides spasmed. He felt himself hovering on the edge of his own end as well, however he fought it back as he sat there, allowing her to recover. Finally, her orgasm subsided and she opened her eyes and moaned, shifting her hips to tell him to keep going.

He smiled, kissing her again, the kiss once again chaste for a moment, until he began to thrust, Mira moaning loudly into his mouth, brow furrowing almost instantly and hands clutching at his back, as though she might climax again at any moment. He realized she must be well past the point of hypersensitivity and he began to speed up, attaching himself to her neck again, this time at the nape of her neck as he began to suck hard, rapidly forming a dark bruise. After another moment, he reached down, beginning to rub her clit again and her moans quickly grew back into cries of pleasure, her voice and expression both growing desperate. However, he could feel his end speeding toward him again, unable to hold it back any longer. She arched off the bed suddenly, her legs wrapping around his waist as he continued to all but slam himself into her rapidly, Mira's legs helping to slam her hips back into him in response. He released her neck after a moment, moving his hand back up for support.

"Mira," he managed to force out, his own breathing almost as ragged as hers, though he was considerably quieter. "I'm..."

His throat closed off as he neared his end, unable to even breathe, but Mira understood was he was saying. And she tightened her legs around him in response. He reached one hand up, pulling her into a heated kiss, their tongues wrestling instantly. And then, his hips slipped out of his control, ramming themselves into her harder than he meant to, trying to burry his member as deep as it would go, less than a second before his end slammed into him like a freight train, earning a loud groan from him, his member pumping its seed into her as her own insides clamped down, Mira crying out in pleasure again, quieter this time, as her head tipped back, eyes seeming to roll back into her head before her eyes closed altogether and her hips jerked against him. After a moment, his hips jerked backward before slamming home again, a fresh spray of semen filling her, a little bit of his juices leaking out around his member. Then, his hips jerked back and forth again, then twice more, each involuntary thrust sending a fresh wave of semen into her, more and more beginning to overflow. Finally, his climax ended and he rolled them both over, holding her on his chest and remaining buried in her tunnel as they both panted, slowly trying to catch their breath. After a few moments, his softening member slipped out of her with a pop. He felt her shiver against him suddenly, realizing he actually felt a little cold as well as the thin layer of sweat on their bodies cooled. He pulled the blankets out from under the edge of the mattress on the sides and wrapped the two sides around them like a burrito, Mira giggling as he did.

"I love you Mira," Sado smiled down at her.

"I love you too," she smiled, reaching up and kissing him for a moment before settling back onto his chest. "That's the first time I've let anyone finish inside."

Sado smiled, squeezing her lightly before his left hand slipped into hers, lacing the fingers together, his other hand running up and down her back lightly. After a moment, she looked up at him, concern and a little fear filling her face.

"Sado, what do we do if I get pregnant?" Mira asked.

Sado watched her for a moment, seeing anxiety growing in her eyes. She wasn't afraid of being pregnant, he realized. She was afraid of what he might say.

"If you do get pregnant, then we will raise and love our child together," Sado said, relief washing across Mira's face.

She nodded, kissing him again. They held it for a while before separating, Mira setting her head over his heart, smiling and closing her eyes. Sado smiled as well, hand moving up to lightly run over her hair as they lay there. Finally, it was Sado's turn to break the silence.

"Mira?"

"Hm?"

"Ya know, when I saw you walking down that aisle, I actually forgot that it wasn't our wedding for a moment," Sado smiled.

Mira slowly turned her head into his chest, resting her forehead against it for a moment as she started to tremble. Then, she looked up at him, smiling as tears slid down her cheeks. "Me too."

He smiled, wiping her tears away and kissing her. "Maybe someday."

She stared up at him, even more tears beginning to fall before she smiled happily, nodding. "Someday."

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	17. Chapter 17

I do not own any of the original Fairy Tail characters.

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Back Home

Sado fought off the pull toward consciousness. He didn't want to wake up. He didn't want to lose the amazingly welcoming haze of sleep. Just like he didn't want to inevitably leave his blanket burrito. Why should he? He was comfortable, warm, and he had the most beautiful girl in the entire world sleeping naked in his arms. Who would want to lose that? But, waking was an inevitability. Soon enough, his eyes slowly creaked open and he looked down at the angel asleep on his chest. Neither had changed positions last night, their hands still clasped, their other arms still around each other, and the blankets still wrapping them up like a burrito. However, almost as soon as Sado was fully awake, Mira yawned, her eyes opening even slower than his as she grimaced then turned to smile up at him.

"Good morning," she smiled.

"Good morning," he smiled back, seeing her grimace again as her leg shifted. "You okay?"

"Just really sore," she smiled. "I probably won't be working for a couple days once we get back."

"I'm sorry," he winced.

"Don't be," she smiled. "That was the best night of my entire life. It's worth any amount of soreness. Hell, I'd quit my job as a waitress and as a mage if it meant that we could do that every night. I might never walk again, but it'd be worth it."

"I might be okay with that," Sado smiled, reaching down and kissing her.

After a few seconds, he finally sighed, unwrapping the blankets and feeling her shiver against him. Then, she pushed herself up, groaning and wincing as she put weight on her legs, Sado helping her up. Then, they walked into the bathroom, Mira getting in the shower while Sado brushed his teeth and shaved. Then, when he was done, he stepped in with her, getting some soap on his hands and beginning to lather her back up, then moving to her shoulders before reaching around to her breasts, Mira moaning almost instantly. She stopped him before he could do much more than that, however, smiling apologetically.

"As much as I want to go again, I'm too sore right now," Mira said.

Sado chuckled, nodding. "Alright."

He kissed her and she stepped out, toweling off and leaving him to wash himself. Then, he stepped out as well, drying off and walking out into the hotel room, pausing to watch her dress herself before dressing himself as well. They packed up before heading downstairs, checking out of the hotel and heading for the train, finding a seat quickly. Mira groaned quietly as she sat down, leaning on his shoulder and chuckling.

"I just about collapsed trying to walk up the station's steps," Mira chuckled.

"I noticed," Sado said. "I can carry you if you want."

"It's alright," Mira smiled. "Besides, I need to be able to walk right when we get back."

"Oh please," Sado snorted. "We both know that by the time we got back to the hotel room, Cana had probably already told all of Fairy Tail."

"Probably," Mira laughed. "Still though. It'd only be worse if you were carrying me."

Sado sighed, shrugging. "Suit yourself. So, what do you want to do the next few days while you're not working?"

"You," Mira smiled. "But since that's going to be problematic, I'd say...relax. It's been a while since we've just relaxed without you being injured."

"True," Sado agreed. "Alright. Relaxation it is. Maybe I'll finally collect the money Loke owes me after that last poker game."

Mira laughed. "You still haven't collected?"

"Nah," Sado laughed. "Been too busy, what with Phantom Lord and all."

Mira nodded and yawned, passing out on his shoulder. He chuckled, wrapping an arm around her and resting his cheek on top of her head. An hour later, they pulled into Magnolia and he shook her awake gently. They climbed off of the train and began to walk back to the guild hall, arriving in record time. Then, as soon as the doors opened, the cheering and clapping began, then the whistles. Nothing rude, but enough that they could tell Cana had definitely let everyone know. They walked to the bar, sitting down and Sado held his hand out to Cana.

"Can you pass me a beer before you start questioning please?" Sado asked, Cana grinning widely.

She handed him a beer and grinned knowingly. He sipped at it and turned to her, motioning for her to start.

"So how was it?" Cana asked, grinning as both blushed.

"Hey Sado," Macao suddenly asked, sitting beside him. "Did you really chase a man out of his own wedding reception?"

"Trust me, they both deserved it," Sado said. "But to answer your question, yes I did. Quite proudly in fact. It was one of the best parts of the entire mission."

"One of 'em, eh?" Macao grinned knowingly, Sado blushing again and taking a drink from his beer. "So what'd he do to deserve it?"

Sado slowly lowered his mug, staring at it as his eye twitched in anger at the memory, Mira's face growing serious as well. "Among other things, he tried to hire Mira as a prostitute, even after I told him she wasn't a prostitute. Apparently the wife did the same thing."

"I'm shocked that he's still breathing," Macao said.

"So am I," Sado said. "He almost wasn't. It took everything I had not to torch the fat fucker. Still though, it's better this way. Say, where's Loke? That fucker still owes me money."

"Oh, that's right," Cana said. "You didn't hear. Loke disappeared while you were away, and Lucy went looking for him. Turns out Loke is actually Leo, the Celestial Spirit, who was banished to our world."

"Leo?" Sado asked. "As in, strongest of the twelve Zodiac Spirits, Leo?"

"That's right," Cana nodded. "Apparently he was looking for a place to die, but Lucy found him and yelled at the Celestial Spirit King until he gave Lucy Leo's key and ordered Leo to serve her until the day she died."

"I see," Sado nodded. "And, I take it that means that he's back in the celestial spirit world and I'd have to have Lucy summon him?"

"Pretty much," Cana nodded.

"Fine," Sado said. "Where's she at?"

"Leo got her, Natsu, Gray, and Erza tickets to that new beach resort as thanks for saving his life," Cana said. "I happen to have a couple, that is, if Mira thinks she can walk long enough to go."

Mira and Sado both blushed and Mira shook her head, blushing even more.

"I'll take one," Sado said.

"Ten thousand jewel," Cana said, holding up the ticket.

"But that's how much Loke owes me," Sado said.

"I know," Cana grinned.

Sado glared at her, holding out the money and swiping the ticket from her hand. "You're evil."

"Aw, now it that any way to talk to the woman who just spent half her night stopping noise complaints so you two wouldn't be interrupted?" Cana grinned wickedly.

Both Sado and Mira turned scarlet, several wizards who had been eavesdropping bursting out laughing. Finally the laughter died down, everyone minding their own business again as Sado glared around at them.

"Anyway, I'm gonna get going," Sado said. "I'll be back in a couple days at most."

Mira nodded, smiling. Sado kissed her, instantly hearing several cheers and a couple of wolf whistles echo around the room and sighed, shaking his head.

"Assholes," he sighed.

He picked up his suitcase, heading upstairs to his room and swapping the dirty clothes for fresh ones, putting a pair of swimming trunks on under his pants and heading back downstairs, kissing Mira one more time, again to a chorus of whistles and cheers, before leaving, red-faced and annoyed at the world.

* * *

Leave a review.


	18. Chapter 18

I do not own any of the original Fairy Tail characters.

* * *

Taken

Sado stepped onto the beach and smiled. Warm sand, blue water, a massive theme park. Akane resort was as amazing as he had heard. Now, all he had to do was find Lucy. He looked around, humming thoughtfully as he strolled along the beach.

"If I were a group of mages on a free trip to the beach, where would I be?" Sado mused.

He stopped as several people walked past, complaining about public indecency. Sado sighed.

"That was easy."

He followed the beach until he found the others, Natsu holding Gray's swimming trunks and Gray covering himself with Happy while both Lucy and Erza simply watched things play out. Sado snatched the shorts from Natsu and tossed them to Gray who hurriedly pulled them on, Happy huffing indignantly as soon as he was away from Gray.

"Oh hey Sado," Natsu said. "What's up?"

"I've been looking for you guys," Sado said. "Lucy, I need a favor. Can you summon Loke, er, Leo for me? I need to talk to him about something."

"Sure," Lucy nodded, pulling out his key.

A moment later, Leo was bowing, Lucy's hand in his own. "How may I be of service, my beloved?"

"For one you could never call me that again," Lucy said. "For two, someone needs to talk to you."

Leo straightened up, looking around and spotting Sado, a sheepish, knowing grin spreading over his face.

"Oh, uh, hey there Sado," Leo greeted. "Finally come to collect on my debt, huh?"

"It's been a full year, Loke," Sado said. "I mean Leo. Ten thousand."

"Right," Leo sighed. "I suppose. Do you accept down payments?"

"Please tell me you have the money," Sado groaned.

"I do, it's just...I got used to carrying it."

"You mean you had it all that whole time!?" Sado shouted.

"Well...uh...kinda," Leo said, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.

Sado sighed. "Fine. How about this, then. In exchange for you paying it all back at once, and because I'm nice, I'll do you one favor. Within reason."

"A favor, huh?" Leo asked. "Alright. Find Aires for me. I miss being able to talk to her."

"Aires?" Sado asked before shrugging. "Sure."

Leo nodded, holding out a wad of bills, which Sado accepted, slipping into his wallet. Then, Lucy released Leo.

"You still have the key for that spirit that knows other spirits, right?" Sado asked.

"Yes," Lucy nodded, pulling out a silver key.

A minute later, a spirit with a giant silver cross for a head was hovering in front of Sado.

"Can you tell me who currently has Aires's key, and where they are?" Sado asked.

The spirit drifted off and Sado waited patiently. Finally, the spirit woke back up, making a bunch of random noises.

"I can't give you the specifics," the spirit said. "It's against the rules. But I can tell you that the wizard that has Aires is called Angel, and that Aires doesn't seem very happy. As an interesting side note, Angel also has Gemini. I can't tell you much else, though."

"That's fine, thank you," Sado said.

The spirit nodded and Lucy closed his gate. Then, she looked to Sado.

"Do you know an Angel?" Lucy asked.

"Only Mira," Sado smirked, Lucy rolling her eyes. "But the name _does_ sound familiar." He pulled out a communications lacrima and after a couple of minutes, Mira's face appeared in it, smiling happily when she saw Sado. "Hey Mira."

"Hello Sado," Mira smiled. "How's the trip to the resort?"

"Not bad," Sado smiled. "Wish you were here, but I'll be back tomorrow."

Mira nodded, smiling.

"Listen, can you do me a favor while I'm away and see if you can find any information on a female wizard going by the name Angel? It sounds familiar but I can't put my finger on it."

Mira nodded. "Sure, but why?"

"I promised Loke, er, Leo that I'd find Aires, and apparently that's who has her," Sado explained.

"Oh I see," Mira nodded. "Okay. I'll see what I can do. You're right, though. The name _does_ sound familiar."

Sado nodded and said goodbye before ending the call. The lacrima shrunk down to the size of a marble and he stuck it back into his swimming trunks pocket with his wallet.

"You have a portable communications lacrima?" Gray asked.

"Of course," Sado said. "You never know when you'll need to make a call."

"You really _are_ rich, aren't you?" Erza asked.

"I just know how to save money," Sado said. "Not rich. Now, what's up next for fun?"

"I'm going to try to get a tan," Lucy said.

"I'm going to find some food," Natsu said.

"Aye sir!" happy agreed.

"I challenge you to a fight," Gray said, Sado chuckling in amusement but nodding.

Just as he did, he glanced past Gray, seeing a woman with blue hair in a blue bikini but wearing a gold Fairy Tail emblem pendant.

"Hey Gray," Sado asked as both walked to the edge of the beach, the water lapping at their feet each time a wave came in. "Do you know a girl with blue hair who wears blue clothes? And maybe a necklace?"

Gray thought for a moment before shaking his head slowly. "The only person I can think of would be Juvia, the water user of the Phantom Lord Element Four."

"Is that right?" Sado asked, smirking.

"Why?"

"You've got a shadow, that's why," Sado chuckled.

Gray turned, glancing back but Juvia had already ducked into cover. Gray turned back to him, sighing. "Great. According to Ur, she fell in love with me during my fight with her."

Sado laughed, nodding. "I figured it was something like that. Fire Make Lance!"

"Ice Make Shield!"

Sado's attack slammed into Gray's shield and Gray leapt over it, forming a hammer. He swung it down at Sado, only for Sado to make a shield of his own. Gray's hammer crashed into the shield and both smashed. Both slammed their hands together before pulling them apart, both forming a sword. Their swords met with a metallic ring, despite one being fire and the other ice. Gray landed in front of Sado, slashing and making Sado flip backward. As soon as Sado was on his feet, Gray shot forward, slashing again, only for Sado to block it, both swords breaking apart. Sado spun, slamming a foot into Gray's chest and forcing him back enough for Sado to have time to make something else.

"Fire Make Dragon!" Sado shouted, a massive flaming serpentine dragon shooting into the air then down at Gray.

Gray formed a massive spear, hurling it through the dragon and destroying it before jumping and catching the spear, swinging it downward at Sado, who dove out of the way. As he stood, he formed a shield, the spear smashing against it before Sado punched the shield, a fireball shooting out at Gray, who dove aside. Where the fireball had been launched, the shield now had a hole. Sado let the shield disperse, the shield going out like a match's flame in the wind. Gray stood, forming a flail with a spiked ball on the end and Sado grinned, forming himself a matching one. A moment later, both weapons shattered. Gray instantly leapt back, touching his hands together before spreading them, holding one back and the other forward as he turned sideways, like he was holding a bow. Except, instead of a bow, a bazooka formed.

"Ice Make Cannon!" Gray shouted, Sado diving out of the way of the massive blast of Ice Magic that nearly hit him.

As he stood, several Ice Make Lances shot toward him. He formed a shield but they blasted straight through. Sado leapt back, holding out his hands and blasting them all with a stream of flames. Then, he flipped, landing on his feet as Gray stopped.

"Maker Magic only," Gray said.

"You won the Maker Magic fight," Sado said. "You're better than me at it."

"I can't make dragons," Gray pointed out.

"Making living things is easy for me, because fire is alive," Sado said, forming a pair of wolves to prove his point, both sitting down beside him and whining, Sado scratching their heads, the wolves reacting like a dog would. "Doing this is easy. Making things like shields is harder, but more important to me."

Both wolves dispersed and Gray nodded, understanding.

"Yeah, you _have_ always been looking for a way to make your flames defensive, haven't you?" Gray asked. "Well, you have the ability to now. Just look at the Phantom Lord attack."

"True," Sado nodded. "Anyway, if it's alright with you, I'm going to get some sun too. It's been a while since I got to tan."

"Sure," Gray nodded. "By the way, are you and Mira together again?"

"Yes," Sado nodded, smiling. "Finally."

"It's about time," Gray smiled before a suspicious look grew on his face. "Sado."

"Good bye," Sado said, walking away quickly, feeling Gray's grin drilling into his back.

Finally, he found an empty beach chair sitting by itself and lay down on it, sighing. After a few minutes, however, a shadow fell over him. He cracked an eye open, seeing Juvia standing over him.

"Juvia, right?" Sado asked. "What can I do for you?"

"Fight me," Juvia said.

"Excuse me?" Sado asked.

"You wield fire, I'm made of water," Juvia said.

"Right, so fighting me would probably be unwise for you," Sado said.

"You're my natural enemy," Juvia said. "You have to fight me."

"Actually, lightning is closer to your natural enemy, ice is closer to mine," Sado said. "But either way, no. I'm not fighting you. Go back to stalking Gray and stop blocking my sunlight."

"Allow me to rephrase," Juvia said, one arm growing into a long stream of water. "You attacked Gray. You _will_ fight me."

She swung the arm at Sado and he dove out of the way, the chair being crushed by her water whip.

"Water Slicer!" Juvia shouted, firing several arcs of water at him out of her body that he barely managed to dodge around.

He looked back, seeing the massive gashes they had torn into the ground and instantly turned, sprinting away from her.

"Get back here and fight me!" Juvia shrieked, chasing him.

"Stay the hell away from me!" Sado shouted.

They sped past several other people who gave them finny looks, then turned and hurried away from them as Juvia sent several more arcs of water at him and he blocked them with a wall of flames.

"Fight me!"

"No way! You're insane!"

Finally, Sado spotted Gray, sprinting toward him only for a massive wall of water to shoot out of the sea, crashing into him and forming into a massive sphere of water, Juvia standing outside of it, glaring at him. He clutched at his mouth, plugging his nose and struggling not to breathe. As his air began to run out, however, he held his hands out, twin streams of flames blasting out of them, making the entire sphere boil for a moment before exploding outward. Sado crashed to the ground, panting as Juvia pulled more water from the sea. He was off like a shot instantly.

"Stand and fight you coward!"

"Gray save me!" Sado shouted, skidding around Gray and stopping, using him as a shield as Juvia stopped, the water she had pulled from the sea hovering behind her in spikes.

"Juvia?" Gray asked. "What are you doing?"

"She's trying to kill me because of our sparring match and because I use fire and she uses water!" Sado said.

"Juvia, he wasn't really trying to hurt me," Gray said. "It's called sparring. It's like practice fighting."

"I know what sparring is," Juvia said. "He's my natural enemy. He and I _have_ to fight to determine which is strongest. So please, step out of the way my beloved Gray."

"Please don't," Sado said.

"Are you afraid of her?" Gray asked.

"Of course not," Sado said.

"Then fight me!" Juvia said.

Sado ducked back behind Gray. "On the other hand, water is one of the things that's most dangerous for me to fight against, so...maybe a little?"

Gray laughed hard, holding his stomach and doubling over, Sado dropping into a squat, arms over his head as a blast of water shot over him before he was hidden again. Finally, Gray got ahold of himself, standing, allowing Sado to do the same.

"Juvia, I forbid you from fighting Sado because of our sparring match or because he's a fire wizard," Gray said.

"Okay," Juvia said, the water spikes reforming into a massive globe of water.

"Thank you," Gray smiled, just before the water globe turned into a massive jet of water that reached around behind Gray, blasting Sado into the ground, then returning to the sea. "What did I just say?"

"I wish to spar with him," Juvia said.

Gray grinned. "You are aware that you're not supposed to kill, seriously injure, or render unconscious during a sparring match, right?"

"I am," Juvia nodded.

"Then there's no reason why you can't," Gray said.

"Gray what the hell!?" Sado demanded, on his feet in an instant.

"Oh what's the worst that could happen?" Gray asked.

"I'm fire and she's water!" Sado said. "I'll boil her!"

"She can boil her own water," Gray said. "Trust me."

"That's not the point!" Sado said. "I'll kill her! Or she'll kill me!"

"Oh relax," Gray said. "No one's going to die. Now stop being a pussy, and fight her."

Sado swallowed hard, turning back toward Juvia just as a massive wall of water shot out of the sea, wrapping around Juvia then flying at Sado, Gray leaping out of the way. Sado extended an arm, a massive stream of fire shooting out to meat the water only to be extinguished instantly, the water blasting into Sado and bouncing him along the beach for a ways. Sado stood, groaning as the water shot at him again. He grit his teeth.

 _Hotter!_ he thought, holding out his hand, a jet of lighter-colored flames shooting out of his hand, this time hitting the water and managing to hold its own.

He heard the next blast before it hit him, though it still did. Juvia had been holding one arm out, the set he was already fighting against being controlled by it, then had swung the other arm and sent another blast straight out of the water into Sado, blasting him straight downward into the ground and cutting off his flames, allowing the other jet of water to once again hurl him. He stood as Juvia attacked again from the front. He began to resist it with his flames. He looked to the side, seeing the other jet coming. He raised his other hand, a second jet of fire fighting that jet back. Steam began to fill the area, the temperature beginning to rise considerably. He grit his teeth, feeling the strain of holding such hot flames for so long. He usually didn't have to adjust the heat. The water began to win out as Juvia pulled more from the sea. He cursed mentally. With the sea right there, he couldn't win without really meaning to beat her. Maybe without being out for blood.

 _Hotter!_ he thought, the flames turning blue as their temperature climbed, halting the water's advance.

Juvia's eyebrows sank a bit, a look of concentration forming as even more water began to assault his flames.

 _HOTTER!_ Sado thought.

However, just before he could increase the heat even more, a third jet of water blasted into him from behind, launching him straight into Juvia's first jet, which blasted him backward a third time before the remaining jet, now wrapping around in the air to follow him, blasted down on him for a moment before leaving him, Sado now thoroughly soaked and lying in a crater, groaning. He slowly began to push himself up as Juvia walked over, holding a hand above herself. He looked up, seeing a pillar of water spikes hovering over him, as big around as the crater but as tall as a building and with thousands of spikes.

"Do you surrender?" Juvia asked.

"Yes," Sado squeaked. "You win."

Then, a massive torrent of water crashed down on him as Juvia released her hold on the spikes. When the water ended, Sado wiped it out of his eyes and glared at Gray who was doubled over, laughing hard. Sado stormed over to him, grabbing him and spinning, hurling him out into the water before storming off away from the beach. He eventually reached the hotel, renting a room for the night and heading there, getting into the shower and washing the salt water off his body and then off his swimming trunks before toweling off and sighing. There was a knock on his door and he walked over to it, looking through the peep hole and seeing Gray, now dressed in a red shirt with the top couple buttons undone, a loose black tie, and black pants.

"What do you want Gray?" Sado asked through the door.

"We're all heading to the casino if you want to come," Gray said. "Oh, and I'm sorry I made you lose to a girl."

"Fuck off Gray!" Sado said. "You know full well that water beats fire. And beside the ocean like that, you knew I was going to lose."

"But it was good practice," Gray said. "You had to actually put in effort for a change, and had to manipulate your fire's heat a lot more than you usually do."

Sado groaned, walking away from the door, opening his suit case and pulling out a dark grey button-up shirt and some black slacks, pulling them on and leaving the shirt untucked, putting on a loose tie, similar to Gray's. He opened the door and Gray grinned knowingly.

"Don't start," Sado said. "I'm not going to be in a good mood for a while."

Gray raised his hands in surrender and they walked away from the room.

"So, what are you going to do about Juvia?" Sado asked.

"What do you mean?" Gray asked.

"Oh don't give me that shit," Sado said. "What are you going to do about her being in love with you?"

"Well, so far she's just been stalking me," Gray said. "It's creepy."

"Gray, either give her a chance, or tell her you're not interested," Sado said. "Do _not_ play with her emotions or lead her on."

"Is it even possible to not lead her on?" Gray asked. "Every time I act polite she assumes I like her. Every time I don't take her side, she assumes that I hate her."

"She's never been in love before," Sado said. "What do you expect? I was the same way when I first got to Fairy Tail and met Mira."

"Yeah, about that," Gray said. "What exactly did you see in Mira back then? She was abusive, angry at the world, overly violent."

"Beautiful, strong, understanding, and she was in pain because of her powers the same way I was because of mine," Sado said. "The world called her a demon. I had no memory and the world was afraid of me because I was constantly on fire. She was driven out of her home because of her power, I burned my home to ash with mine. She understood how I felt, and she taught me control. And any time I started to lose control, she stopped me."

"By kicking your ass," Gray said.

"Only twice," Sado said. "The rest of the times, she did it by talking to me. But understanding. By caring. She was the only one to ever try and reach me through my rage and my power. And she was the only one who was ever able to."

"I see," Gray nodded. "I suppose I understand then."

"How did this become about me, anyway?" Sado asked. "You're net getting away from it. Do something about Juvia's feelings."

"What do you suggest?" Gray asked.

"Give her a chance," Sado said. "Give her a chance at being with you. Then, if you decide you're still not interested, you can tell her so. And I don't mean one date, either Gray. Give her a month or two. Enough time to settle and stop seeing everyone as a potential rival and stop trying to figure out whether or not you like her. And Gray, actually try to like her. If you look for flaws, you'll find them. But if you look for perfections, you'll find those too. There's an old saying that you don't love someone for their perfections, you love them for their flaws. Try following that."

Gray sighed and nodded as they reached the bar just as Juvia stepped out of the crowd ahead of them.

"Oh hello again Juvia," Sado said, stepping back and behind Gray as he spoke, almost making it seem like he wasn't actually hiding from her. "Hey Gray, doesn't Juvia look beautiful in that dress?"

Gray's eyes flicked down to Juvia's dress, a slim, sea blue dress ending just above her knees and with a small slit in the bottom of the front. The top of the dress had a low V to show off her cleavage then reached up with a single strap around the back of her neck. She also was still wearing the Fairy Tail pendant.

"Uh...y-yeah," Gray said. "Sure." He turned to Sado. "I'll give her a chance but I'm also going to kick your ass for making me regardless of how it turns out. The severity depends on the result."

Sado shrugged, walking away and heading for the poker table. He found Lucy and Erza there and sat down beside Erza. The dealer dealt him in, Sado using some of the money he had gotten from Leo. About two hands later, he set his head on the table as he lost to Erza for the third time, Erza having a straight flush.

"I guess it's my lucky day," Erza said as a second dealer walked over, swapping with the one they had. "I have a feeling that this hot streak is just getting started."

"Oh yeah?" Lucy grinned.

"God I hope not," Sado said, buying more chips. "I want to have some money to get home with."

"In that case, I've got a special game for you folks tonight," the dealer said, Sado glancing up at him, seeing a tan guy about their age with messy blonde hair, and a tattoo on the left side of his jaw. He dealt five cards to Erza, the cards having letters that spelt out "DEATH" on them. "And while we're at it, what do you say we raise the stakes a bit higher, Sister?"

"It can't be," Erza breathed. "Sho? Is that you? It can't be."

Sado sensed magic from him, as well as a dangerous aura.

"So you do remember me," Sho said.

"You know him?" Lucy asked.

"You're...you're alive!" Erza breathed, trembling with fear.

"Alive?" Sho grinned wickedly.

"Uh...I mean..." Erza trailed off.

"You okay?" Lucy asked.

"Hey buddy," Sado said. "I don't know who you are. And I don't know how Erza knows you. I don't even want to be rude to you. So I'm going to warn you now. You don't want to do this here. If you do, it's going to end badly for you."

"Is that right?" Sho asked, holding two fingers to his temple. "I've located Erza. Go ahead and take care of things on your end."

"There are more of you?" Sado asked.

Then, everything went dark and he felt his stomach drop out through his feet as the feeling of falling gripped him. Then, all feeling faded.

* * *

Leave a review.


	19. Chapter 19

I do not own any of the original Fairy Tail characters.

* * *

Rescue Operation

Sado blinked twice, staring at the giant forms of the dealer, Lucy, and Erza above him. He looked behind him at the odd design making up the back of his prison. He recognized it as the background of the dealer's cards.

"Alright then," Sado growled. "You want a magic battle, then let's play!"

He held his hands out to the sides, shouting in rage and effort, letting his power spike as flames exploded out of his hands, engulfing his prison. Outside the card, a burst of hot air blew all of the other cards away from him, drawing everyone's attention, everyone now including a girl with cat features and a short pink dress under a yellow jacket, a man with a body looking to be made of blocks and styled as a mafia member, and a very large, very broad man with a metal lower jaw, a white turban with a strip of cloth handing from the right side of his head, an eyepatch over his left eye with a scar reaching out from under the bottom of it, a green shirt with the left side of his chest and his left arm uncovered, exposing his muscles, a blue sash with an odd insignia running down the length of it, and brown pants.

Finally, the face of the card cracked just before flames exploded out of it, Sado appearing on his feet in the center of the flames, the flames retracting to around his body. He glared at the four newcomers.

"I warned you Sho," Sado growled. "Now, it's going to end poorly."

The girl grinned and an orange cat-tail-like object shot out, wrapping around his body only to ignite and burn to ash in seconds.

"What part of tying up a man on fire seemed like a good idea?" Sado asked, raising a hand. "You all have three seconds to leave."

The gangster's arm vanished below his elbow in a series of flashing yellow squares and Sado spun, grabbing the floating metal gun that had formed, tilting it toward the ground just as it fired, then crushing it. The gangster shouted in pain, the gun vanishing, reappearing as his deformed arm. Show hurled several cards at Sado who swung an arm up, a wave of flames shooting out of the ground and burning the cards away just before everything went dark. Sado heard movement behind himself and ducked, spinning and punching outward. The lights returned as the big guy sailed across the room into the wall. Then, a gunshot rang out and Sado dropped, feeling pain lancing continually through his back. He pushed himself up, turning as a second shot rang out and Erza dropped, unconscious. Sado lunged at him only for the gangster to swing his gun around just as Sado's sight faded yet again. His torso exploded into pain, and when the light returned, the four of them were gone, as was Erza. Sado looked down, seeing the bruise where the gangster's shot had hit his chest. It had ruined his shirt, but it hadn't been enough to break his skin, thanks to the flames around him weakening its magic. The same was probably true for his back. He stood, walking over to Lucy as he let his flames fade, forming a dagger from them and cutting her free. Then, he turned as Juvia, Gray, and Natsu walked over, all of them bruised and beaten but alive.

"They took Erza," Sado said.

"Happy too," Natsu said. "We need to find them."

"Any ideas?" Sado asked.

Natsu sniffed and grinned wickedly. "I can smell that blockhead. Let's go kick his ass!"

"Natsu," Sado said. "They were following orders. So when we get there, leave the leader to me. And probably to Erza, as well."

Natsu snorted in amusement. "It's like you don't know me at all. I'm the one fighting the boss. I'll save Erza. You just sit back and watch."

Then, he turned, taking off at a sprint that was terrifyingly fast. Sado sighed, before jogging out of the building and stopping, looking back.

"Well, let's go!" he called back to the others.

Then, he took off, flames flying out of his hands and feet. The trip was ridiculously long. After about thirty minutes, Sado had to land and run along with the others. And still they kept running. Finally, Natsu stopped, pointing out to sea. There was a small boat nearby and they all climbed in, Lucy taking the controls. Across from her, Natsu leaned over the side, vomiting. Sado sighed, settling in for a long ride.

* * *

Sado stared at the others. They had found an island with a massive tower made from a combination of what looked like tree roots and machines. There were guards everywhere, each one with a pet. Some sort of pink, eye-less reptile with wings. In place of fighting their way up the tower and possibly putting Erza in danger, Juvia had found an underwater path into the tower. It was a ten minute swim, but Juvia had the idea of capturing air in a water shell around their heads, allowing them to breathe.

"Come on Sado, you'll be fine," Gray said.

"Do you have any idea how hard it is for me to fight underwater?" Sado asked. "Escaping the water sphere she caught me in on the beach took a quarter of my energy and all i had to do was launch flames out of my hands for a second. Under there, I'll be powerless."

"You won't need to fight," Gray said. "Me and Juvia will handle any situations that arise. And once we get out, you'll be able to fight again."

Sado sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Fine. Let's make this quick."

Juvia nodded, forming a sphere around all of the others heads before they all got in the water, following Juvia to a tunnel and through it. True to her word, ten minutes later they got out of the water onto a small platform surrounded by four pillars.

"Alright, it worked," Gray said. "Good job Juvia."

"Thank you my love," Juvia said, Sado sighing as Gray cringed slightly, forcibly restraining the action.

Sado turned, looking up and spotting one of the flying reptiles and its rider just as it roared. He launched a fire ball at it, cutting the rider off mid-shout as the reptile swerved out of the fireball's path, breaking its wing against a wall and falling, both crashing into the water where gray froze them in place.

"Looks like we're busted," Sado said.

Sure enough, in moments the room was filled with soldiers, both standing on the catwalks and raised platforms above them, and hovering on their reptiles.

"I suppose there's no choice then," Gray sighed.

"Yup, we're gonna have to fight," Natsu grinned.

"Identify yourselves!" one of the soldiers shouted.

"Allow me," Sado said, stepping into the center of the room, palms together as the others all formed a circle around him. Sado knelt, placing his hands on the ground. "Phoenix Egg!"

A massive egg-shaped wave of flames formed around them, shooting outward, blasting the catwalks and pathways into rubble, burning and hurling the soldiers and reptiles. Then, the flames dispersed and the soldiers all fell into the water where Juvia formed a massive ring-shaped water prison, trapping the soldiers. Once they had all lost consciousness, she dropped them on the few remaining flat areas Sado had left. Then, a statue on one side opened, its tongue moving out as a platform.

"What the heck is that?" Natsu demanded.

"An invitation," Sado said. "The boss wants to play a game."

"Alright," Gray said. "Let's get started."

Sado nodded and together, they all walked up the new path.

* * *

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	20. Chapter 20

I do not own any of the original Fairy Tail characters.

* * *

Rescue Operation: Part 2

Sado munched on a drumstick, smiling. Inviting them in _and_ setting up a feast in their honor. He was starting to like the boss. The food was even rich in magic energy, allowing them to replenish what they had lost. While they ate, Virgo changed Lucy out of her bikini and into a green dress with a green bandanna over her hair. Sado ignored her, and Natsu didn't even notice, but Gray stared, much to Juvia's dismay. After several minutes of everyone but Lucy chowing down, Sado finally stood, wiping his mouth and hands with his napkin then stretching and sighing contentedly.

"Alright," Sado smiled. "Let's get to work finding Erza and Happy so me and Natsu can burn this fucker down."

Just then, several guards rushed in. They all turned to fight just as Erza appeared, knocking them out with a pair of swords. Sado blinked twice before grinning. Erza stared at them in shock.

"It's you! What are you doing in the tower?" Erza demanded.

"Looking for you," Lucy said. "We came here to rescue you."

"We haven't met," Juvia began. "I'm Juvia and-"

"Go home!" Erza snapped. "This place is far too dangerous."

"Oh Erza," Sado sighed. "If the tower's that bad, I'll just burn it down."

"Burn it down?" Erza gaped. "You think it's that easy?"

"Why not?" Sado asked. "This place is half tree, right?"

He held his hands up, flame springing to life above them, rolling back on themselves into a massive fireball, steadily heating up, turning first blue, then white. Then, they shot straight upward, fanning out across the ceiling, a deafening roar filling the room. Sado held the stream for several seconds before ending it, staring at the perfectly intact ceiling. Not even a scorch mark left behind.

"That's not possible," Sado said.

"A valiant effort, but ultimately futile," a voice said over a loudspeaker. "If this place could be destroyed so easily, it wouldn't still be standing."

"Whose voice was that?" Sado asked.

"I don't know," Erza said. "I didn't recognize it. It doesn't matter. You have to leave now."

"No way," Natsu said. "Even if we can't destroy this tower, I'm not leaving until I've kicked that blockhead's ass and saved Happy."

"If happy was taken it was Millianna," Erza said. "She's a cat lover. She'd never do anything to hurt him."

"I don't care," Natsu said. "I'm not leaving without Happy!" And with that, he was off, sprinting deeper into the tower.

Sado sighed, shaking his head. "Just face it Erza, we're coming with you."

He began to walk after Natsu, Erza staring at him incredulously.

"Stop!" Erza ordered.

"You can kick my ass for ignoring you later," Sado said. "For now, we're going to find a way to tear this tower apart. That should stop your nightmares, right?"

Erza's eyes widened as she stared at him. He turned, smiling back at her.

"We're your friends, Erza," Sado said. "If destroying this place will help you, then that's exactly what we're going to do. And don't worry about the guy in charge. I'll handle him personally."

And with that, he turned, walking around the corner and down the hallway, following Natsu's dust cloud. Soon, the dust faded and Sado sighed, slowing to a stop at a fork. To the right, there was simply an endless tunnel. To the left, another endless tunnel.

"Maybe I should go outside and fly up," Sado mused. "Fuck it. Right it is."

He turned, running down the right path. After a few minutes, he slowed to a stop as he reached a massive open area, similar to the one they had fought the guards in. This one, however, had cages and chains filling it, and a tunnel outside above. He grinned, flying out through the tunnel. As he rose, however, he spotted a flash off to one side. He sped up, and a moment later, a massive wall of muscle with an owl's head was streaking toward him from above. Sado flipped around him, kicking the massive jetpack the owl was wearing and sending him crashing into the tower. Sado stopped his ascent as he caught a voice from inside saying something about a game and an Etherion blast. He swore, looking up. He couldn't see the satellite square yet, but if he focussed he _could_ sense it. He turned back to the owl as it flew back up level with him.

"Who are you?"

The owl hooted at him, its head turning almost upside down. "I will not tolerate the breaking of rules." The owl pointed at him, its head righting itself. "Now prepare yourself to be punished in the name of justice!"

"Rules?" Sado blinked. "What are you talking about?"

"Oh, you missed the announcement didn't you?" the owl asked. "You're a part of the master of this tower's game. Heaven's Game. You must climb through the tower, defeat myself and my two allies, and then find a way to defeat Jellal. In doing so, you win the game and thwart Jellal's plan to revive Zeref."

"He wants to do what!?" Sado demanded. "Well, if I have to take you down to get to him, then let's get this over with!"

The owl hooted, shooting through the air, Sado matching his speed, the two beginning to trade punches and kicks, all the while the owl dodged blasts of flame from Sado. Finally, the owl caught Sado by the throat, smashing him against the side of the tower, dragging him along before hurling him back through the hole Sado had left, leaving Sado to crash down on a cage just before Natsu followed. Both began to stand as the tallest of the four that had attacked them at the casino ran in.

"Natsu, be careful with him," Sado said, watching the man. "He controls darkness."

"Got it," Natsu growled.

"No, wait! I'm not your enemy," the man said. "My name is Simon. I've been pretending to be on Jellal's side from the beginning in order to find a group of wizards strong enough to stop him."

"Why?" Sado asked.

"Because I'm the only one who always believed in Erza," Simon said, his one visible eye betraying his emotions to anyone who knew how to look.

"Oh, so that's how it is," Sado sighed. "In that case, welcome to the team."

"What?" Natsu gaped. "Just like that? What gives?"

"He's in love with Erza," Sado said, Simon staring up at him in shock.

"How did you..."

"You may be able to hide your face, but your eye speaks loudly enough that I couldn't miss it," Sado said, just as the owl landed behind him.

"Time to die!" the owl shouted.

Sado turned to him as the owl's thrusters lit up, only for Sado to appear in front of him, driving a fist into the owl's gut, blasting him into the wall. Then, Sado slammed his hands together.

"Fire Make Cannon!" Sado shouted, forming a bazooka in his hands. "Eat your heart out Gray."

He fired and a massive blast of white-hot flames shot out, exploding through the wall, leaving the charred remains of the owl lying folded backward over the bottom of the hole.

"Isn't that...a little excessive?" Simon asked.

"You piss off a fire wizard, you get burned," Sado shrugged. "Natsu, we've got a job to do."

"Right," Natsu nodded. "Should we take the sky, or the tunnels?"

Just then, Gray landed beside Simon and Sado glanced at him before turning back to Natsu.

"I'll fly, you take the tunnels," Sado said. "I'll keep Jellal busy. You come and back me up as soon as you can."

Natsu nodded and Sado turned, rocketing out of the tower, once again flying upward. He shot higher and higher, passing an area where he sensed Erza's power fighting someone. Then, he flipped, blasting his way through the dome at the top, landing in the center beside a massive jagged lacrima. In front of him, a man wearing blue pants, black boots, a dark blue cloak with the hood up, a white jacket, and a black shirt hummed thoughtfully, staring at him. He had blue hair and a red tattoo above and below his right eye, looking like some sort of tribal symbol. He began to clap, his gloves muffling the sound slightly.

"Not bad," he said, frowning. "You're quite the powerhouse aren't you? Fairy Tail's Phoenix. Or, would you prefer I called you by your other moniker?"

"You may call me by my name," Sado snarled. "Yours is Jellal, right? I've heard of you. Twin brother of Siegrain, one of the Ten Wizard Saints who is currently on the Magic Council. You possess Heavenly Body magic, along with Darkness Magic, Telekinesis, and a few other things. Quite the dangerous individual. And since I can't tear this tower down until you're dead, that leaves my choices pretty limited. Shall we?"

Jellal stood, pulling his hood down before holding out his hand, a massive purple blob with red markings covering it forming above his hand. "Tell you what, Ill let you in on a little secret. You're not fighting a human. I've been granted the power of Lord Zeref's soul! This, is it's power!"

He held his hand out, the blob breaking apart into a bunch of smaller ones, all flying at Sado like bullets. Sado snorted, flipping sideways as the blob blasted out the side of the tower.

"Typical," Sado snorted. "You can destroy it an I can't."

"Hold still!" Jellal said, turning and firing a beam of purple energy, which Sado crouched under then shot sideways. Jellal turned, firing another, but the Sado he hit burst into flames. "A Fire Clone?"

"Got you!" Sado shouted, swinging the massive ball of fire he had between his hands down at Jellal.

Jellal turned, grinning just as a massive sphere of the purple blob substance formed around Sado, blocking his spell. Sado snarled in rage, putting his hands together.

"Fire Make Sword!" He snarled, slashing the bubble several times, splitting it apart and leaping at Jellal, slashing at him again, only for him to backhand him, sending him flying into the wall.

As soon as he his, Erza was there, charging at him with a katana, now wearing red and orange flame-themed pants and some bandages as a top. She attacked Jellal relentlessly, but Jellal was able to avoid everything. Then, he began to attack her with the same blobs and energy beams, Erza managing to avoid the attacks as well. Sado saw an opening and formed himself another sword, sprinting at Jellal and slashing, Jellal turning and leaping away, only for Erza to split his stomach open. He crashed to the ground as the tower began to shake. Sado felt his stomach drop.

"Etherion," Sado breathed.

"I apologize for not being able to save you back then," Erza said, now kneeling on the floor with Jellal, knowing she didn't need to kill him. "Can you forgive me?"

"Erza, you _have_ saved me," Jellal said, hugging Erza, who hugged him back.

Sado sat down, feeling numb. He was going to die. He would never see Mira again. And he could never say goodbye. Tears began to roll down his cheeks. It wasn't fair. He had just gotten back together with her. He had waisted so much time and now he'd never see her again.

"It's not fair," Sado mumbled. "Mira."

He looked up at Jellal and Erza, smiling slightly. At least Erza was able to save her friend in the end. He was seated behind Erza, so he wasn't sure if she was crying too, but he doubted it. Sado looked up as a blinding light began to shine above them, then back at Jellal. Something felt wrong. Suddenly, Jellal's eyes opened, his right hand clenching slightly. His eyes opened wide with a wicked glee as he grinned widely. Then, Sado's foot collided with his nose, and he flew backward, crashing into the wall.

"What the hell are you doing!?" Erza demanded.

"Ask me when the blast ends," Sado snarled.

Then, the blast reached the tower.

* * *

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	21. Chapter 21

I do not own any of the original Fairy Tail characters.

* * *

Jellal

The blast reached the tower. The light became blinding. The tower lurched and shook. A deafening explosion reached his ears. And then it was over. His ears were ringing but slowly returning to normal, his sight was completely obscured by smoke, and when he knelt, he felt lacrima below his feet. He stood as the smoke began to clear and Erza stared around in confusion. The entire tower had become a lacrima. Jellal stood, laughing maniacally.

"What have you done?" Erza asked.

"It's here," Jellal said. "At long last my hour of glory has arrived."

"It's a lacrima," Sado said. "The entire tower. It's one giant lacrima. It absorbed the Etherion, charging itself to capacity. Now once it gets its sacrifice, it'll be activated."

"In other words, I was your pawn?" Erza asked, looking to Jellal.

Jellal grinned as another voice spoke.

"Your expression is priceless right now," Siegrain said, stepping into view behind them, Sado turning to him. "He isn't capable of putting forth his full power right now. So he had to manipulate you in order to save himself."

"Siegrain," Erza snarled.

"No," Sado said. "That's Jellal."

"What?" Erza gasped. "So then, have we been fighting Siegrain?"

"No," Sado said. "Both are Jellal. Isn't that right? The reason you're not at full strength, the reason you haven't used any Heavenly Body Magic, is because you actually split your soul in half, so that you could manipulate the council as Siegrain."

"My my, you're quite sharp," Jellal commended. "Just one glance and you figured out my secret."

Siegrain began to flicker before stepping over, passing into Jellal and fusing with him, waves of Magic Energy beginning to flow through Jellal so thick they distorted the air around him. Instantly, Erza summoned a pair of massive swords, attacking Jellal with them. However, after the fourth attempt, a bind snake spread over her body immobilizing her.

"What's happening?" Erza gasped as her body failed to respond.

"It's just a Bind Snake," Jellal said. "I slipped it onto you during our heartwarming embrace earlier."

Erza began to scream and Sado walked forward, stopping beside her and resting a hand on her shoulder.

"My turn," Sado said.

Jellal turned to him, smiling. "Well then, come onPhoenix."

Sado shot forward, flames streaming from his fist at the same time as shooting out of his elbow and feet. Jellal sidestepped the punch and Sado spun, kicking at him, only to freeze as he saw Erza sinking into a lacrima wall.

Erza!" He shouted, only for Jellal's foot to crash into his side, launching him into the side of the tower, fracturing it. Suddenly, Natsu had arrived and was pulling Erza out of the lacrima.

"I've got you," Natsu said. "What are you doing hanging around with this loser. If we don't get back to work soon Lucy's not going to be able to pay her rent, and she's scary when she gets mad."

"Sorry, but I can't move," Erza said.

"No way," Natsu said before grinning.

Suddenly, he was tickling her, Erza laughing and successfully thrashing about.

"Natsu this is serious! Quit goofing around! Stop it!" Erza shouted, Natsu finally letting up. "You have to get out of here."

"I'm not leaving," Natsu said. "If you can't do the fighting yourself then I'll just have to do it for you."

"He's too powerful, besides, you don't know anything about him," Erza said.

"Who says I have to know the guy to beat him up?" Natsu asked.

"Please," Erza said, Sado kneeling beside her and lifting her. "What are you doing?"

"Honestly, I don't really know you all that well either," Natsu said, pulling a fist back. "But I can still..." he drilled the fist into her gut, knocking her unconscious. "...take you down."

Sado sighed, gently setting her back down. "There were gentler ways to do that, you know."

"Are you going to complain about my methods, or are we going to fight Jellal?" Natsu asked.

"Natsu, once again you seem to underestimate the simplicity of the situation," Sado said.

"And what's that?" Natsu asked.

"He can't use the Tower of Heaven to sacrifice Erza if there's no tower," Sado said, lighting both hands on fire, Natsu grinning and doing the same.

"You're right," Natsu grinned. "That _does_ simplify things."

"Distract Jellal," Sado said, Natsu shooting forward. At the same time as he attacked Jellal, Sado jumped, clasping his hands and forming a ball of fire around them, bringing them down on the tower. A massive explosion went off, blasting huge chunks of lacrima away. Sado pulled his fist back to do it again, only for Jellal to crash into him, his cloak and jacket suddenly gone and a golden aura around him. Sado pushed himself up, grinning.

"Meteor," Sado said. "A spell that allows one to fly at high speed and increases their attack power. Natsu, we're handling Jellal first!"

Natsu nodded, both beginning to try to predict Jellal's movements and trying to strike him as he passed, only to miss and subsequently be batted around the room. Finally, he stopped in front of Natsu, slamming his fists into him for several seconds before Sado appearing, narrowly missing with his flaming sword. Jellal grinned, flying into the air, holding out his hands, heels of his palms together with the lower hand having all five fingers extended and splayed and the upper hand having only the index and middle fingers extended.

"May the Seven Stars bring judgement upon you!" Jellal shouted, seven golden spell circles forming before him and arranging themselves into the big dipper, golden lightning connecting them. "Seven Star Sword, Grand Chariot!"

Seven blasts of golden energy shot toward them and Sado grabbed Natsu, launching fire out of his entire right side and hurling both of them out of the way of the explosion. However, he wasn't fast enough and the explosion hurled them into the wall before dropping them down a level, their bodies cratering the lacrima floor there. Jellal landed in front of them, grinning.

"That spell packs the same amount of force as being hit with a falling meteor," Jellal said. "I'm impressed their bodies are still intact. Maybe that was a little bit much. The R System can't sustain any more damage or it'll be rendered useless. I can feel the Magic Energy leaking out."

"Is that right?" Sado asked, raising his head to grin up at Jellal, the lacrima around his hand beginning to bubble.

Jellal's eyes widened.

"So if I do this..." he yanked his hand straight out to the side, a massive explosion blasting a huge section of the tower into fragments, Jellal shouting in rage. "...It'll probably put a bit of a damper on your day, huh?"

Jellal roared in rage, his golden aura returning just as Sado swung both arms forward, twin massive walls of flame rushing past him, connecting around Jellal in a massive explosion, blasting even more of the tower into shards. Jellal shouted in rage just as Natsu sprinted at him. Jellal swung his arm, a spell circle firing several blasts of golden energy. Natsu grinned, easily avoiding them as they barely cracked the tower with their explosions. Sado grinned. The tower had to be badly damaged for him to hold back like that. Natsu leapt at Jellal and Jellal sent a single massive blast directly into Natsu, but Natsu crossed his arms, skidding backward a ways before spreading his arms, dispersing the spell.

"Hah! You so worried about wrecking your precious tower that you're gonna hold back!? 'Cause that ain't gonna work against me!"

"I'd watch my mouth if I were you!" Jellal shouted, blasting Natsu backward as he was about to attack.

"I'd watch my back if _I_ were _you_!" Sado shouted, stopping directly behind Jellal and slamming both hands into his back, a massive wall of flames exploding outward, blasting a section of the tower and badly burning Jellal's left forearm and hand, Jellal having managed to mostly escape the blast. "Not bad. Your reaction time is impressive."

A half second later, Natsu landed from being blasted, slamming a Fire Dragon Brilliant Flame into the tower, sending a massive explosion skyward, tearing the tower apart as it did. Sado grinned. Between the two of them, Jellal had no way of defending both himself and the tower.

"Now I'm angry!" Jellal snarled. "I didn't spend years building this tower just to have some brat tear it down!"

"Sucks to be you," Sado smirked. "All that wasted work. But you can't say we didn't warn you. Breaking things is what we do best. But hey, you could still save the tower. Just let us kill you instead and the tower will be safe. Until we break it after your death."

Jellal snarled, crossing his arms over his head. A very strong wind began to kick up instantly, Sado shielding his eyes as light shone from Jellal, only for Sado and Natsu's shadows to reach toward Jellal anyway. Sado's eyes widened as a ball of black Magic Energy began to form above him, white specks of light inside it like stars.

"Altairis!" Sado cursed.

"Don't do it!" Erza shouted, stepping in front of them. "Unless you want to kill me too!"

The spell faded.

"That would be a problem," Jellal said. "The ceremony requires the body of a wizard comparable in strength to the ten Wizard Saints. However, I can find a suitable replacement. You're not the only one that fits that bill. I'll worry about that after I kill all three of you!" He reformed the spell as he spoke and Sado clenched his fists.

Mira fit the bill. And Jellal knew that. Siegrain had met Mira multiple times. He looked to Jellal, who grinned.

"I hear Mirajane Strauss has regained her magic," Jellal grinned. "I think she might come looking for her missing lover, don't you?"

"Move," Sado snarled, shoving Erza aside.

"Heavenly Body Magic, Altairis!" Jellal shouted, hurling the spell.

Flames exploded to life from Sado's body and he shoved his hands forward, a massive stream of white-hot flames crashing into the sphere of magic, the flames spreading around it into a massive wall, sort of looking like a flower, if anyone had been paying attention to that. The flames tore through the tower anywhere they touched it, and the sphere was still pulling in chunks of the tower, cracks forming below it as it began to tear the ground apart. Then, it exploded. Sado ended his flames instantly, trying desperately to form a shield to block the blast, but he was too slow. Then, there was a body in the way, and a spell circle in front of them. The blast split around the person just before smoke and dust clouded their vision. After a moment, it began to clear and Simon was lying on the ground, burned badly but alive.

"Simon!" Erza shouted. "Why!? Why would you do that?"

"Too...protect you," Simon said, voice weak as the pain threatened to drag him into unconsciousness.

"You've got a hell of a sturdy body Simon," Sado said. "You're damn lucky you didn't take the full brunt of the spell or it would have killed you. Your burns will hurt for a while but, That's about it."

"You mean..." Erza stared at him hopefully.

"Yes Erza. Simon's going to live," Sado smiled. "Rest Simon. When you wake up, you'll be on your way to our guild hall to join Fairy Tail."

Simon smiled. "Take care of the rest."

"We've got this," Sado smiled. "Natsu, go."

Natsu streaked forward, slamming his fist into Jellal's jaw, launching him backward into a large growth of lacrima. Then, as Sado stood, Natsu picked up a chunk of lacrima, taking a bite.

"No!" Sado shouted just as pure magic energy began to shoot out of the tower and into Natsu.

Natsu roared in rage, slamming his fists into the ground and sending a wave of magic energy at Jellal, who dove to the side, barely avoiding it. Then, Natsu began to choke, rolling on the ground and clutching his throat.

"You idiot!" Sado shouted. "The Etherion's Ethernano is made up of every element! It's not just fire! It's poison to you!"

Suddenly, a massive wall of flames exploded up around Natsu, Sado's eyes widening as his knees buckled. The flames formed into a dragon above Natsu, but Sado's eyes were glued to Natsu himself. The flames behind him had left most of his body in shadow, his eyes glowing brightly. Sado felt something inside him roaring, flames growing to life in response to the sight before him. He stared down at his hands and the claws of flame they had become. But he wasn't angry. There was no way he should have those without being angry. He looked back up at Natsu as Natsu as his eyes stopped glowing, Natsu's upper body leaning forward and coming into the light, revealing scaled patches around his eyes and on his forearms and the backs of his hands. Just like that, Sado's flames began to shrink again. He blinked, pushing himself up, his legs trembling slightly.

"Get him Natsu," Sado said, keeping his voice level to mask how shaken he was by his own body's reaction to Natsu.

Natsu was off like a shot, slamming a knee into Jellal's face before jumping to the ceiling. "You made Erza cry!" he jumped at Jellal, grabbing him by the throat, beginning to crash down through level after level. "And I'm not gonna let you get away with that!"

Sado stared at the hole, dropping to his knees again.

"Sado, what's wrong?" Erza asked.

Sado turned, staring at her before shaking his head, taking a deep breath and forming a flame in his hand and muttering to himself as he stared into the flame. "These flames are mine and mine alone. I control them. Not the other way around."

He stood, crouching just as Jellal and Natsu shot past them into the air. For a moment, Jellal sent countless blasts at Natsu, only for Natsu to easily evade them all. Then, Jellal began to swing his arm rapidly, a massive Abyss Break seal forming in the air.

"Phoenix Flight!" Sado shouted, exploding off of the ground as his flaming phoenix-like shroud formed around him.

The Abyss Break spell circle was complete, but not nearly as large as Phantom Lord's had been. After half a second, Sado slammed into it, the circle almost instantly shattering, Jellal staring in shock, right up until the moment Sado's flaming wing crashed into his gut, blasting him skyward.

"Natsu!" Sado shouted, his flames going out as Natsu shot past him.

Then, flames began to form around Natsu as he flew, forming into a gigantic dragon. The dragon roared less than a second before it enveloped Jellal, Natsu's fist crashing into his face. A second later, the dragon turned into a perfectly spherical explosion and Jellal shot downward, past Sado and then exploded down through the tower, all the way to the bottom before finally stopping in a massive crater.

Sado landed on a lacrima spike, sighing in relief as Natsu crashed down on his hands and knees in front of Erza, turning to her and smiling before beginning to collapse. Erza caught him and Sado slid down to the ground, walking toward them. Just as he did, a massive fissure ripped open in front of him an a beam of Ethernano exploded out, shining into the sky. He dover out of the way, the beam managing to graze his arm, taking the skin off of it, exposing muscle. He swore.

"The tower's unstable!" Sado shouted, sprinting over to them, arm hanging limply at his side, blood running out of it. "Get Natsu out of here, I'll get Simon."

"Your arm!" Erza gasped.

"Go Erza!" Sado shouted, the tower beginning to break apart more and more, beams of Ethernano blasting out of it everywhere.

Sado turned, sprinting to Simon and catching him as he was falling off of a chunk of lacrima into a chasm. He slung Simon's enormous body over his good shoulder, grunting with effort as he stood, turning back to Erza. Except, she wasn't running. She was struggling her way into a massive pile of melted lacrima. He sprinted over, dropping Simon beside Natsu and grabbing her other arm.

"What the hell do you think you're doing!?" Sado demanded.

"I can stop the tower from exploding!" Erza said.

"You'll die!" Sado snapped.

"If I don't do this we'll all die!" Erza said.

"Then let me!" Sado said.

"Absolutely not!" Erza said.

"Why not?" Sado demanded.

"Because I'm doing this so that you can see Mira again!" Erza said, Sado freezing, falling silent. "I'm making sure you can get home! You, Natsu, Simon, and all of our friends!"

"I see," Sado sighed. "Then you'll understand why I'm coming with you."

He reached out to the lacrima, but just as soon as he touched it, he was sent flying, crashing down beside Natsu and groaning.

"See?" Erza said. "It has to be me!"

And with that, she shoved forward, making it up to her shoulder just as Natsu sat up.

"What are you doing?" Natsu asked. "I don't get it, are you trying to go back inside that thing?"

"It's the only way I'll be able to stop it!" Erza said before screaming in agony.

"Stop what?" Natsu asked just as the tower shook, yet another beam of Ethernano shooting out of the tower, though it had slowed down its rate of decay now.

"Now you see," Erza smiled, now with both arms and legs in, facing them. "It's the Ethernano. It's slipping out of control. I promise I'll stop it, there's no need to worry."

Natsu pushed himself up, scrambling forward but falling. He scrambled on, finally stopping on the ground before Erza. Erza pulled one hand back out of the lacrima, cupping the side of his face and smiling sadly. The tower around them began to glow and Sado's stomach dropped. They were all about to be blasted by Ethernano.

"I can't even imagine what my life would have been like without Fairy Tail," Erza smiled. "If it weren't for you and the others, I probably wouldn't be here today. I hope you all know how important you all are to me. i care for you so much."

"Erza," Natsu breathed.

Sado grit his teeth. He hated himself for letting her do it. He hated himself for not being able to take her place. But she was right. She was the only one there that could do it.

"That's why I'm willing to make the ultimate sacrifice," Erza said. "If it means my loved ones will be spared, I'll gladly give my life-" Only her face was outside the lacrima now. "-so that you may live."

Then, she was fully inside, slowly floating away from them, deeper into the lacrima.

"No way!" Natsu shouted, pounding on the now solid lacrima as it began to glow. "You come out of there right now!"

Sado stood, limping over as he continued to pound away.

"You can't leave us!" Natsu shouted.

"Natsu, that's enough," Sado said. "She has to stop the tower's explosion, or Lucy, Gray, Juvia, Happy, Millianna, Sho, Simon, us...we're all die along with her when the tower explodes."

Natsu ignored him, continuing to beg Erza to come back, tears flooding down his face. Then, several thin beams of Ethernano shot out of the ground around them before the bubble Erza had sunk into suddenly glowed brightly, sending a beam of Ethernano straight up into the sky, all the others fading. Natsu lunged for the lacrima but Sado caught his shoulder.

"Let go of me!" Natsu more pleaded and cried than ordered. "I have to save her!"

"If you touch that Lacrima, you'll die!" Sado snapped.

"If it means saving her, I don't care!" Natsu shouted.

"Wait!" Sado said. "Not yet!"

Natsu stopped, staring at him.

"Just wait," Sado said.

Then, the Ethernano vanished.

They could still see Erza, more than a full body length away, but she was there. Sado felt the tower jerk as it began to break apart and he grabbed Natsu, slamming him into the Lacrima and jumping, flames shooting out of his feet. Natsu got the idea and began to fire flames out of his own feet as well. Natsu began to sink into the lacrima, try as it might to refuse him. Finally, he was all the way in, his flames stopping as Sado gripped his ankle. Natsu still couldn't reach. Sado set his feet, firing his flames out of his entire left side, letting his already injured arm be shoved into the lacrima along with Natsu. He watched his skin beginning to dissolve. He held on. Almost there. Finally, Natsu grabbed Erza and Sado reversed his flames, the lacrima ejecting both him and Natsu, Natsu bringing Erza with him. However, rather than hitting the ground, they found themselves in free fall as the tower collapsed. Sado sighed in relief at having saved Erza, then smiled as he slipped into unconsciousness.

* * *

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	22. Chapter 22

I do not own any of the original Fairy Tail characters.

* * *

Home

Sado groaned, opening his eyes and looking around. He was in a bed and Porlyusica was across the room, yet again. Mira was beside him, glaring down at him furiously.

"Hey Mira, sorry I'm late," he grinned sheepishly.

"You idiot!" Mira shrieked. "Do you know what kind of state you were in when you got back!?"

"Probably a pretty bad one," he said.

"Your entire right arm was halfway dissolved!" Mira shouted. "Porlyusica only _barely_ managed to save you! What the hell were you thinking!?"

"We had to bring Erza home with us," Sado said. "Is she alright?"

"Erza's fine," Mira said. "Made it out in better condition than you did. You're such an idiot, Sado. I almost lost you again. Are you ever going to stop scaring me?"

"God I hope so," Sado said. "It's no more fun for me than it is for you."

Mira smiled in spite of herself, shaking her head. "You've been asleep for four days this time."

Sado nodded, standing and sighing, not bothering to try to move his arm.

"Give it another twelve hours before you use it," Porlyusica said. "You can unwrap it in twenty four. It'll probably hurt for about another three days."

"Thank you," Sado said. "We'll get out of your hair now. Would you like me to tell Master Makarov you said hello?"

"Do as you like," Porlyusica said.

Sado smiled and he and Mira left, heading home. When they arrived, the first thing Sado noticed was the finished guild hall. It was massive. It looked more like a castle than a guild hall. Sado smiled.

"It looks just like your plans," Sado said and Mira slapped him on the should, laughing. "What? I'm serious."

She laughed, before wrapping her arms around him, resting her head on his shoulder. "We're taking time off. Both of us. I'm not letting you go anywhere you might be hit by an Etherion blast for a while."

Sado chuckled, wrapping an arm around her and kissing the top of her head, smiling. "Agreed. And from now on, you'll just have to come with me everywhere I go to keep me from being killed. Guess you can't be a waitress for a while, huh?"

Mira smiled, squeezing him lightly. "Thank God. I'm tired of having to serve drinks to drunken assholes."

"Who's been an asshole?" Sado growled.

"No, it's alright," Mira said. "I handled it."

Sado stared at her for a moment before sighing and nodding. He walked to the door, kicking it open since one arm was around Mira and the other wasn't working, and Mira showed no signs of wanting to release him. The sight that greeted him was amazing. The main room was humungous with a stage at the far end and he could see Elfman on the top floor, in the process of greeting Erza and the others, minus Juvia, who turned to him, all smiling.

"Look who showed up," Natsu grinned.

"Sado," Erza said, tears welling up in her eyes. "Your arm. I'm so sorry."

"Don't worry about it," Sado smiled. "Hey, you're crying out of both eyes."

"Oh, yes," Erza smiled. "It's because of Natsu."

"God dammit Natsu!" Sado said. "Only you could make _Erza_ cry out of both eyes!"

Erza, Gray, Mira, and Lucy laughed while Natsu moved to shout at him, only for his voice to die in his throat as Makarov spoke.

"Well, I'm glad you dunderheads made it back safely," Makarov said, everyone turning to him, then staring at Juvia, who stood beside him.

She was dressed in a pair of knee-high white boots with blue at the top, a white skirt with blue water patterns along the bottom that reached just above her knees but was split open down the front, with a second layer, this one blue, underneath it, a zip-up blue top with lighter blue spaghetti straps over her shoulders, a sleeveless white blouse under it with a blue brooch with a darker blue Fairy Tail emblem in the middle and a dark blue ribbon extending in two strips from the bottom, a pair of light blue gloves that reached mid-bicep, and a blue hat that had a piece folded out from the sides and back exposing white inside, and with a light blue spiral pattern in the front. Her hair was also cut short with her bangs framing her face.

"I'd like you to meet Fairy Tail's newest member, Juvia," Makarov said. "Isn't she a curie?"

"I can't wait to work with you all," Juvia curtsied.

Gray chuckled, smiling proudly. "So you actually made it in, huh?"

"Thank so much for all of your help in Akane," Erza said.

"No, I should be thanking you," Juvia said. "Because now I've found a new guild."

"Hey girl," Lucy smiled.

"We will fight for Gray!" Juvia snarled.

"That won't be necessary," Lucy said.

Sado gave Gray a knowing look and he rolled his eyes, waving his hand and nodding.

"We've also added another person to the guild, someone you might recognize," Makarov said, gesturing behind them.

They all turned and stopped, staring at Gajeel, who had a black Fairy Tail symbol on his shoulder.

"What!? Him!? Are you kidding me!?" Gray demanded.

"Hello Gajeel," Sado said, keeping his face straight.

"Phoenix," Gajeel said. "Sorry. Sadao, was it?"

"Sado," Sado corrected.

"Right," Gajeel said.

"Why'd you let him in here Gramps?" Gray demanded as both he and Natsu prepared to fight.

"Calm down!" Juvia pleaded. "I asked him to come along here with me!"

"I don't mind Juvia, but he's the one responsible for destroying our guild hall," Erza said.

"A guild hall is just a building," Sado said, everyone staring at him. "What was it Master teaches us? Yesterday's enemy can be today's friend?"

"That's right!" Makarov said proudly.

"Yeah, if I'm okay with him here, you should be too," Levy said, despite the fact that she was crouched behind a table.

"There ain't no way!" Natsu shouted, slamming a hand down on the table in front of Gajeel. "I can't work with somebody I can't trust!"

"What's the big deal?" Gajeel said. "It's not like I wanna be your buddy. The only reason I'm here is to get work. I hate this stupid guild and everyone in it, but times are tough so I had no choice but to join!"

"Then you won't mind if I do this," Sado said, grabbing Gajeel by the throat and slamming him into the wall, squeezing hard enough that Gajeel couldn't breathe. "I may not particularly care that the guild hall was destroyed, but you hurt my friends. Don't think anyone has forgotten. Just because you're wearing a Fairy Tail crest now doesn't make you our friend or our ally. You have to earn that right. We'll be keeping an eye on you, and if you do absolutely anything to threaten my friends, I'll cauterize your windpipe closed and let you suffocate, understand?"

Gajeel managed to nod and Sado dropped him, Gajeel coughing and gasping for breath.

"Weren't you the one who said something about enemies becoming friends?" Lucy asked.

"That saying's all well and good, but you have to want to be someone's friend in order to be one," Sado said. "As far as I'm concerned, he's still an enemy. Just one I'm not allowed to kill."

"Sado," Mira said, slipping her arms around him again. "Please try to get along with him. For me?"

"Fine," Sado grumbled.

"I gotta go," Mira said, kissing him. "Cheer me on, okay?"

"Cheer you on?" Sado blinked. "What do you mean?"

She winked back at him before disappearing through a door. A moment later, the lights turned off, the stage's spotlights switching on.

"What is there a play?" Sado blinked.

"Just keep watching," Makarov chuckled.

The curtain rose and revealed Mirajane sitting on a stool, a bird with a microphone for a head hovering in front of her and a guitar in her hands. Sado's eyes widened before he smiled, sitting down. Several people cheered and Mira smiled, eyes finding him before she began to sing. The song was a sad one about missing a loved one, and about praying for the stars to guide them home. It was about praying for the loved one to follow, and come back to them, back home. He smiled, feeling his eyes burn slightly and chuckled, wiping them.

"You really do have it bad," Gajeel said from behind him, Sado's smile dropping.

"What do you want?" Sado asked.

"I'm sorry," Gajeel said. "I know it doesn't mean much, especially coming from me, but I _am_ sorry. Sorry I destroyed the guild hall, sorry I hurt your friends. I'm sorry that Jose tried to kill your girlfriend."

"Thank you for apologizing," Sado said. "I appreciate it."

Gajeel grunted and walked away, Sado turning back to Mira and smiling. She bowed a couple of times before the lights went out. A minute later, the came back on, leaving Gajeel on stage, in a white suit with a metal guitar.

"Oh jesus," Sado sighed.

"I wrote a song called Best Friend," Gajeel said, Sado's jaw dropping. "You've got to be fucking kissing me."

"You wanna hear it? Well here it goes," Gajeel said.

He began to sing but Sado couldn't hear him over people shouting for him to leave and hurling things at him. After a moment, Mira sat in his lap, his good arm wrapping around her back as her head rested in his shoulder. Juvia sat beside him a moment later.

"I...May I ask you something?" Juvia asked.

"Sure," Sado said.

"You two seem to be the only two in the guild that I know of who are in a relationship, and neither of you seems to have to worry about anyone trying to steal the other, and you both seem so happy together," Juvia said. "How...how did you two start your relationship?"

"You want advice," Sado chuckled. "Well, I think Gray might be willing to give you a chance soon. But you'll have to work hard to get him to stay with you. to be perfectly honest, there are quite a few things you need to change."

Juvia stared at the floor in depression.

"Don't worry," Sado smiled. "You can do it. I know you can."

"Thank you," Juvia said. "What should I do?"

"First, stop stalking him," Sado said. "Second, stop assuming that everyone you meet is a rival for Gray's affection. I promise you that no one in the guild is interested in Gray like that. Almost least of all Lucy. Lucy is Natsu's. They just haven't realized it yet. Mira, think you can do something about that?"

"Sure," Mira smiled.

"Okay," Juvia nodded. "What else?"

"Let's see," Sado said. "How to word this. Stop...obsessing over him."

Juvia looked confused.

"It's alright to want to be with him all the time," Sado said. "That's how love is. But, you have to start slow so that he will want to be with you as well. Small displays of affection, a kind smile, not a forced, one, just...small ones. Or small gifts, like...well, maybe that only works one way."

"You could make him dinner," Mira offered. "Not all the time, but once in a while. And you could ask to hold his hand when you're alone, or on a date. If you do go on a date, let him decide what to do or where to go. And don't try to kiss him. Since _you're_ trying to win _him_ over, let him kiss you. If he wants to. I promise you, it will take more than just one date. But, the most important thing to remember in order to win a guy's heart is this: Whatever happens, be there for him when he needs you, and I mean when her _really_ needs you. Not just any time you think he does. I mean when he really does."

"How will I know the difference?" Juvia asked.

"Well, given the way missions have been going, one obvious one is that, if he gets into trouble in a fight, you step in to help him," Sado said. "Outside of missions..."

"Whenever he's hurting emotionally," Mira said. "If he's emotionally hurting, or struggling with something, just be there for him. Not always trying to make him feel better, just being near him. For example, if he's sitting alone by a river and thinking about unhappy things, like things that he's lost, sit with him. You don't have to talk, but you being there will help remind him that he hasn't lost everything."

"Okay," Juvia nodded. "I...I'll try."

"Alright," Sado said. "Let's see a smile."

Juvia smiled, the smile somewhere between happy and shy.

"Perfect," Sado grinned. "Even gray won't be able to resist that."

Mira nodded in agreement.

"Oh, and for when you're giving him gifts," Sado said. "Whatever you do, do _not_ make it Gray-themed. No Gray's-head-shaped lunches, no Gray's-head-shaped jewelry. Nothing."

"Ice might be okay," Mira said. "After you've been dating for a while, and after he's kissed you and admitted that you're important to him, it might be okay to give him some kind of jewelry, like a ring or a pendant for his necklace. I'll help you pick it out when the time comes. As for lunch, maybe once every few you could theme it after ice."

Sado nodded. Juvia smiled and bowed.

"Thank you both so much for your advice," Juvia said. "But, now I'm even more curious about you two's story."

"I kinda want to hear this one too," Lucy said, sitting on the other side.

"Mind if I listen?" Levy asked. "I love this story. It's so romantic."

"It's...not a story I enjoy telling, at least, at first," Sado said. "But...sure."

All of them smiled, listening intently as Sado took a deep breath, tilting his head back while thinking of how to start.

* * *

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	23. Chapter 23

I do not own any of the original Fairy Tail characters.

* * *

History

"My story's...not really the happiest," Sado began, those around him listening intently, Mira slipping her hand into his. "If it's alright with you, I'll skip the very beginning, for the most part. All you need to know about it is that my earliest memory is waking up on fire after having burned down my entire home town and everyone in it. I wandered for a long time until I reached Fairy Tail. While I was wandering, I was still on fire, so, you can imagine I wasn't too popular. Once I reached Magnolia, Mira found me and led me to Fairy Tail. Master Makarov greeted me at the door and placed a suppressing spell on me so that I wouldn't set anything on fire, then gave me a bed and some food.

"After that, he had Mira try and teach me control, since my condition seemed to act a little like Mira's own powers did at first. Well, actually the first thing he did was try and have me control them myself after releasing the suppressor spell. It didn't go well. I lost control and ended up trying to fight both him and Mira."

"That must have been a painful experience for you," Lucy grinned.

"Actually, he was able to hold his own against me relatively evenly," Mira said. "And he took a blow from Master like it was nothing more than a slap to the face. He only stopped fighting when Master sealed his power again."

"Oh wow!" Lucy said. "Then without your powers suppressed, you must be one of the strongest wizards in the guild."

"Even with them suppressed he's one of the strongest," Levy said. "Without them suppressed, only Master Makarov is stronger."

Mira's face fell at the same memory that flashed through Sado's head.

"No," Sado said. "Without them suppressed, I'm nothing but a monster."

All of the others besides Mira looked confused.

"Anyway," Sado said, "after that Mira and I spent pretty much every day together while she trained me to control my ability. One memory that stands out the most is one of the times Mira tried to have me spar against her to test my control."

* * *

Sado stepped out of the city, stopping in the usual training area, finding Mira waiting in her devil form.

"We're going to be sparring today," Mira said.

"Why?" Sado asked.

"Firstly to test your control," Mira said. "And secondly, because I've beaten everyone in the guild at least once besides you, and I can't let that stand. So today, you and I are going to prove which of us is stronger. At least as you are now."

"But...I don't want to hurt...anyone," Sado said, staring at the ground, images of his family's corpses running through his head.

"You're a wizard," Mira said. "Eventually you'll have to fight, so you might as well learn to do it against someone you know you won't be able to kill as easily as one of the weaker members."

Sado was silent for a moment before looking up at her worriedly. "Promise you won't get hurt?"

Mira stared at him for a long moment before nodding. "Yes. I promise."

Sado nodded and closed his eyes, focusing on his flames, allowing both hands to ignite, flames shooting high into the sky.

"Ready," Mira said. "Begin!"

Sado's arm snapped up, a jet of flames shooting out of his palm at Mira, who shot out of the way, flying straight at him and slamming her fist into his jaw. He shot backward, bouncing once before flipping, landing on his feet. Mira fired a beam of dark energy at him and he held out both hands, beginning to block it. Then, his flames went out, all at once. He shouted in surprise and fear, trying desperately to restart them, but nothing happened. He looked up at the beam of energy, now way too close to avoid. Suddenly, Mira was in front of him, shouting in pain as the blast hit her instead. As the dust began to settle, she looked back at him, burned and panting but smiling.

"You okay?" Mira asked.

"You...you're...hurt," Sado said, falling to his knees. "I...I'm sorry. I didn't mean..."

"Hey, it's alright," Mira said, kneeling in front of him. "It was my fault for putting so much power into my attack."

"You...you promised," Sado said, tears rolling down his cheeks before flames exploded to life over his body, Mira leaping away instantly, forming a second dark sphere but waiting. "You liar!"

He raised his hands, firing a stream of flame and Mira launched her blast back, only for the explosion to hurl her. Just as she crashed to the ground, Sado appeared over her, pinning her and raising on hand, flames building up in front of it. Mira stared at him in fear and the faces of al the others who had been afraid of him flashed through his mind, images of his home mixed in with them. The flames dwindled and he held his hands to his face, trembling as tears slipped out from under them.

"I...I'm sorry," he sobbed. "Please...don't...don't look at me like that."

After a moment, Mira shifted back into her human form, sitting up and hugging him.

* * *

"Aaawww," all of the girls around them said.

"It wasn't anything romantic at the time," Sado said. "Anyway, that was the last time Mira and I fought for a while, at least until I had decent control over my abilities."

"That sounds like a fair idea," Lucy nodded.

"It was," Sado said. "Anyway, as we began to grow up together, Mira always looked out for me, just like she did Lisanna and Elfman. She may have been the guild bully, or one of the two..." he glanced at Erza. "...but she was always patient and understanding with me. I'm not sure if it was because she actually cared or because she was afraid of facing my wrath."

"At first it was a mix of the two, but by the time that thing with my hands happened, it was mostly because I cared," Mira smiled.

"'Thing with my hands?'" Lucy asked. "That sounds...inappropriate."

"It most definitely wasn't sexual," Sado said. "Actually, it's the next thing that really sticks out in to me. I had lost control of my flames again, first time in a while...so it scared me."

* * *

Sado heard Mira's voice shouting from the kitchen and headed that way, tears running down his face as he struggled to stop the flames spreading down his legs, his entire torso, both arms, and his head already covered. He stopped in the doorway to the kitchen, where Mira and Erza were fighting.

"Mira," Sado said, voice trembling. "I...I can't..."

Mira was standing in front of him instantly, Erza completely forgotten. "Hey, it's alright, Sado. You just have to calm down. It's going to be okay."

"I...I can't!" Sado cried. "I can't stop them!"

"You can," Mira smiled. "Just focus on me."

"I can't! I don't want to hurt you!"

"You won't," Mira smiled. "You control your flames, remember? You've done it a million times."

"I can't! It's different this time!"

"Sado," Mira said, reaching for his hands, which were still held in front of him, only for him to step away, keeping his hands there. "Sado, it's okay."

"No! I'll hurt you!"

"You won't. You won't hurt me." Mira stepped forward, smiling and slowly lowering her hands into the flames, taking his hands.

As she did, she smiled up at him, Sado looking up into her eyes. He sniffed, looking back at their hands, finding that his fires had gone out entirely. His eyes widened in surprise and joy and he threw his arms around her, Mira smiling and hugging him back.

"You see?" Mira whispered. "I'm fine."

* * *

"It was only after that that I found out that she had actually been burned so badly that she had to go to Porlyusica. I was so distraught that I actually ran away."

* * *

Sado sniffed, curling into a ball, listening to the rain hissing as it reached his ceaseless flames and evaporated. He couldn't even cry properly, as usual. A sob managed to force its way out, and just like that, he was sobbing again. He heard several leaves and twigs crunch under someone's foot and scrambled backward into his cave, lower lip quivering in fear as the footsteps neared his cave's entrance.

"Sado!?" Macao's voice called out.

"Sado!" Erza shouted.

Bits of dirt tumbled from above the cave and Sado remained silent. Then, Erza and Macao stepped into view.

"There you are," Erza smiled. "We've been looking everywhere for you."

"No! Stay away!" Sado said. "I don't want to hurt anybody else."

"Sado, it's time to come home," Erza said, stepping forward.

"Stay away!" Sado said, covering his head as his flaming shroud launched a fireball at her.

Macao grabbed her, yanking her to the side, but the fireball caught her hand and Erza shouted in pain.

"No! Erza!" Sado said, cowering even deeper into his corner, sobbing again. "I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! I can't come back."

"What happened?" Natsu's voice asked.

"He attacked me!" Erza snapped.

"Let me see," a voice Sado knew well said, making his breath catch in his throat.

 _N_ _o. Not her. Not here. Not now! Please! I can't hurt her again!_

"Erza you big baby!" Mira scoffed. "That's no worse than touching the stove!"

"That's not the point!" Erza said. "He attacked me! He's a threat to the guild."

"He's not a threat to anyone!" Mira snapped. "He's just scared! How would you feel if you were on fire and couldn't put it out? Now stay here and stop whining about a blister. Gray, give her some ice so she'll shut up."

Then, Mira stepped into the cave, smiling sadly when she saw just how afraid Sado was.

"Hey Sado," Mira said. "Are you okay?"

"Stay back!" Sado sobbed. "I don't want to hurt you again!"

"You didn't hurt me," Mira said.

"I burned you!" Sado shouted. "I know you went to Porlyusica! Macao told me everything!"

"Macao!" Mira shouted. "We're going to have a discussion about your choice of conversation later!" Mira sighed, turning back to Sado and smiling, holding her hands out so he could see. "I'm fine now, see? Not even a mark left. And I know you're not going to hurt me again."

As she had been talking, she had been slowly walking forward before finally sitting down on her knees in front of him. She held her hand out, smiling sweetly.

"I know you won't hurt me, because you feel the same way I do, right?" Mira asked, Sado's eyes growing to the side of saucers as he stared at her, his flames going out like a match head.

He stared at his hand before tentatively reaching out to hers, Mira closing her fingers around his once their hands met.

"See?" Mira smiled. "I told you. You're not going to hurt me."

"But...I can't..."

Mira smiled and shook her head. "If you're going to be my boyfriend, you have to be more confident."

"B...boyfriend?" Sado blinked, eyes wide.

Mira giggled, leaning forward and kissing him. After a moment he kissed her back, the kiss only lasting a few seconds before Mira sat back, smiling.

"Now let's go home," Mira smiled. "It's almost time for dinner."

Sado stared at her before nodding, smiling and pulling her into a hug. Mira smiled, hugging him back before pulling him up and walking out of the tunnel with him, their fingers laced together.

* * *

"AAWW! ! !" all the girls cheered, Sado blushing and Mira smiling.

"But, Mira, if that was right after what happened to your hands, weren't you even the least bit afraid of being burned?"

"Not at all," Mira smiled. "I knew he wouldn't hurt me. The whole reason for him running away was because he was upset that he did."

"But what if he did?" Juvia asked.

"Then I would have gotten it treated later," Mira shrugged. "Honestly the thought of 'What if' never crossed my mind. It wouldn't have changed anything, honestly."

"AAWW! ! !" the girls all said again.

"So after that you pretty much had control, I take it?" Juvia asked, both Mira and Sado's face falling instantly, Lucy and Juvia glancing at each other.

"I..." Sado trailed off, looking to Mira who nodded once.

"It's alright," Mira said.

"I lost control completely one other time," Sado said. "It was the same mission that Lisanna died on. It's my fault she's dead."

"Sado..." Mira said, but didn't both arguing.

"What happened?" Juvia asked after a moment, watching as Mira set her head on his should, squeezing him gently, the ghost of a smile flitting across Sado's face before it fell again.

"It just...went wrong," Sado said. "All of it did. Natsu actually asked to come with us. We should have taken him. Hell, we should have taken everyone."

Everyone sat in silence, waiting for him to continue. After a moment, he inhaled deeply then sighed.

"We were going to subdue a monster known as the Beast, who was rampaging through a town," Sado said. "Given the trail of destruction it left, we found it pretty easily. Our plan was for us to drive it out of the town first, then subdue it. but...it wasn't afraid of Mira's devil transformation. It wasn't afraid of Lisanna's animal transformations. It definitely wasn't afraid of Elfman's one-armed transformations. But it was afraid of fire. Or, at least, it knew to be careful around fire."

* * *

Sado jumped, flipping and bringing a stream of flame down to the ground, sending a wall of flames toward the Beast. The Beast roared, leaping out of the way and Sado hot a blast ahead of it, making it leap backward. Sado shot forward, sending a pair of walls of flame at it. It roared, clapping its hands and scattering the flames. Sado sped forward, flames trailing from his fists before skidding to a stop, slamming his fists into the ground, a fissure tearing along the ground at the Beast, flames bursting out of it at the Beast. The Beast leapt over it, roaring, and Mirajane appeared in front of it, firing a beam of dark energy into its face.

It crashed to the ground, motionless, and Sado lit his hand on fire as Mira slowly inched toward it. Just as she reached it, its eyes snapped open. Sado launched a fireball but the Beast grabbed Mira. Sado's eyes flew wide open.

"Mira!" He shouted, at the same time as she folded her wings in front of herself, the fireball exploding.

He shot forward, the Beast leaping away and Mira dropping to her hands and knees, coughing and waving the smoke away, her wings mangled and scorched.

"Mira, I'm so...I didn't mean to! I swear!"

"I know," She smiled, cupping his cheek. "That thing's more intelligent than it looks. Be careful."

Sado nodded, standing and turning to it, jumping and beginning to rapidly launch fireballs at it. The Beast roared, leaping around and avoiding them, the fireballs exploding all over the village, but Sado no longer cared. His body was enveloped in flames and he was out for blood. He shot toward the Beast, Swinging his arms forward, a pair of massive walls of flames shooting past him and exploding, hurling the Beast backward into a house. It stood, roaring as Sado jumped into the air over it, pulling his arms back over his head then throwing them forward, a massive ball of fire launching at the Beast, exploding against the now empty house. He landed beside the house, seeing the Beast running down the road and sent a massive wall of flames after it. It cut left through a back alley and Sado blasted the ground, hurling himself into the air before he began to fall after the Beast. He landed in front of it, both hands on the ground and a massive explosion went off under the Beast, hurling it through three buildings and to the edge of town. As it took a step inward, Sado began to blast the street with twin jets of flame from the roof of a building nearby, heedless of the fact that he was also igniting the building he was on and four buildings around where he was hitting. The Beast turned, running out of the city and Sado shouted in rage, chasing him, his flames reaching higher by the minute.

"Big Sis, Sado's out of control! Again!" Elfman said.

"Don't you start that now!" Mira said.

"He's a monster!" Elfman said. "I forbid you from dating him!"

"HE'S NOT A MONSTER! ! !" Mira shouted, turning to Elfman. "If he's a monster, so am I!"

"Big Sis..."

"Evacuate anyone still in the village!" Mira ordered. "Let me worry about Sado."

Elfman hesitated and Lisanna took his hand.

"Mira can handle it," Lisanna said. "Sado won't hurt her."

Elfman stared at him before nodding. Mira turned back to the flames shooting into the air int he distant rock quarry. She looked back at her ruined wings and sighed, shaking her head before running after them. As she reached the quarry, she stopped, watching as the Beast hurled a boulder at Sado, who blasted it aside, using his other hand to blast the Beast into the side of the cliff.

"Sado!" Mira shouted, running toward him. "That's enough Sado! You can stop now!"

"Go away!" he shouted, blasting the ground in front of her, stopping her in her tracks.

"Sado you don't have to do this!"

"I'm going to tear him apart!"

"Sado stop! Please!" Mira pleaded, forming a dark sphere in her hands.

Sado roared, sprinting forward, only to stop when Mira's blast tore through the ground in front of him. However, in the same instance that he stopped, he spun, sending a wall of fire at her. Mira dove out of the way, staring him in the eye. The blast had been a warning shot, meant to stop him but never to hurt him. But when she looked in his eyes, all she could see was hurt, betrayal. Pain. And so, it didn't surprise her when he roared, the flames on his hands forming into claws as he shot toward her. She ducked out of the way of his claws, smashing her tail into him and hurling him aside, then crossing her arms as the Beast smashed its hand into her entire body, blasting her backward into a cliff. Sado roared in rage, shooting forward and punching it, sending it blasting into the cliff. He leapt at it, slashing and it yanked its head sideways, a single claw tearing its face down through the right eye.

The Beast spun, slamming a kick into Sado and he flipped, landing on his feet and rocketing forward. Before he could reach the Beast, Mira stepped into the way, tears streaming down her face, a dark sphere in her hands.

"I'm so sorry Sado," Mira said, blasting him.

He flew backward, watching in almost slow motion as the Beast appeared behind her, swiping her aside, sending her blasting into the cliff again. Then, Sado blasted into the cliff himself. He stood, his flames slowly shrinking down and going out. He shouted in rage, sprinting forward and then stopping, launching several fireballs at the Beast, but it leapt over them, crashing down on his arms, pinning him. Mira appeared at his side, launching a blast at it, only for the Beast to tilt his head to the side then grab Mira, lifting her and roaring, beginning to crush her, Mira screaming and shifting back into her human form. Then, Elfman slammed his metal fist into the Beast's face, making it stagger backward, hurling Mira. Sado began to stand just as Elfman leapt onto the Beast, beginning to glow purple. The Beast roared, driving his claws at Elfman's back but Sado leapt into the air, kicking the hand upward and making the Beast slap itself in the face. Then, the purple light spread to the Beast. Then, Elfman sank into the Beast, the light shining blindingly bright for a moment before flashing even brighter, kicking up a cloud of dust. As the dust began to settle, the Beast stepped forward, slapping Sado aside, then stomping on him.

"No, Elfman!" Mira shouted. "Snap out of it!"

Elfman roared, beginning to stomp toward Mira. As he did, a colorful bird landed beside Mira, transforming into Lisanna.

"I had everyone in town evacuate," Lisanna said. "Now let me help you!"

"You have to run Lisanna," Mira said. "It's dangerous. Sado and I were getting beat up pretty bad, so Elfman tried to take over the Beast to protect me."

"Oh my gosh," Lisanna gasped. "That's him?"

"It almost worked," Mira said. "But the Beast was too powerful for him. Now he's totally lost control."

"Oh no," Lisanna said, helping Mira to her feet. "What do we do? How can we save him?"

"We have to get him to come to his senses before the Beast completely takes over his soul," Mira said.

Lisanna released Mira, walking forward as Mira fell back to her knees.

"What are you doing!?" Mira demanded. "Come back here!"

"Big Brother Elf?" Lisanna asked. "Are you feeling okay? It's me, Lisanna, your little sister. Our big sister Mira is here too."

Elfman cocked his head to the side.

"We're a family, and when times are tough, we pull together and work things out," Lisanna continued, smiling up at him. "So why don't the three of us go home and talk about what happened today? I promise we're not mad at you."

"Lis...anna..." Sado groaned, struggling to push himself up. "Get...back." He collapsed back to the ground, watching as Elfman raised an arm, roaring.

"Come on," Lisanna said, standing with her feet spread and arms out to the sides. "Don't be afraid big brother. We still love you."

Then, the Beast swung, smashing Lisanna aside, the swing having so much force that it sent her body rag dolling through the air, chunks of stone and some dust following. Mira screamed and Sado roared in rage, shooting through the air, once again on fire. Both of his clawed hands crashed into Elfman's face, knocking him to the ground before beginning to beat him mercilessly. Finally he stopped as Mira screamed his name, his anger fading, allowing to see that Elfman was shrinking back into himself. Once his flames were gone, he tipped to the side, crashing onto the ground and passing out.

* * *

"By the time I woke up, the town had...the town had burned to the ground, and we were partway back to Fairy Tail already," Sado said. "I was going to turn myself in, but Mira and Elfman blamed it all on the Beast, and I got off scot free. At least, legally. Mira never knew this but, I went back to the town. Counted the bodies. She had spent days trying to convince me that I didn't hurt anyone in my rampage. I don't know how many people survived...but...there were over a hundred charred corpses. Technically, there was no way to tell how they died, but I knew. There was no way the Beast had killed them all."

"You went back?" Mira asked, eyes wide.

"I had to know," Sado said. "Anyway, if I had managed to remain under control, a lot of those people, no, _most_ of those people would still be alive. Maybe even Lisanna."

"You can't know that," Mira said. "No one blames you for Lisanna's death. No one ever has."

"That doesn't mean it's not my fault," Sado said. "Sorry. I need to go take my medicine."

He stood, Mira hugging him quickly before letting him leave. He walked outside and toward the park, stopping when he met Gajeel, who looked like he had been in a fight. And had lost, badly.

"What happened?" Sado asked.

Gajeel just growled something Sado couldn't make out and limped past him, obviously barely on his feet, and there was a nasty electrical burn on his left arm, smaller ones on the rest of his body.

"Laxus," Sado breathed, walking toward the park.

Just before he got there, he met Levy and her team.

"Hey, I just met Gajeel, he looked..." he trailed off as he saw their conflicted expressions. "What happened Levy?"

Levy looked surprised at being called out before staring at the ground. "Jet and Droy called Gajeel out. They wanted to repay him for what he did to us. But Gajeel just...let them. He didn't try to fight back, he didn't try to defend himself. He just let them hit him. Then Laxus showed up and..."

"He was talking about how he heard Fairy Tail was weak, and that we've become the laughing stock of the magic community, then he started in on Gajeel too, blaming him for it. We tried to tell Laxus that he was going too far, and to lay off...but..."

"He lashed out," Droy said.

"What did Laxus do?" Sado asked.

"He attacked Levy," Jet said.

"Are you alright?" Sado asked.

"I'm fine," Levy said. "Gajeel...Gajeel shielded me. Then, he just left and Laxus went the other way."

Sado's eyes widened before he nodded, sighing. He looked the way levy had indicated Laxus going before staring at his arm. Then, he turned, returning to the guild hall.

* * *

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	24. Chapter 24

I do not own any of the original Fairy Tail characters.

* * *

Fairy Tail's Worst Members

Sado covered his mouth with his hand, choking back his laughter. When Mira had said she was going to throw the contest for the others, he was expecting a trip. Instead, she began to transform her head into different people, such as Happy, Gajeel, Makarov. Each of the others so far had gone with a bikini to try to win votes. After Mira headed backstage again, Erza went with a gothic schoolgirl style outfit. Levy showed off her Solid Script magic, which would make a word formed out of whatever substance it spelled out, such as the letters for "Iron" made out of iron. Biska walked onto stage with her bikini already on, and to show her skills, requipped a rifle into her hands to shoot four coins at once then caught them. Finally, it was Lucy's turn to go. She walked out on stage, announcing that she and her spirits would be doing a cheer. Sado grinned.

"This aught to be good," Natsu grinned, watching her while munching on a loaf of bread.

Beside them, Gray was lazily watching the stage, as he had been since the beginning, showing absolutely no reaction to Juvia when she had showed off her bikini. Beside Gray was Elfman, who was watching the contest excitedly, except for Mira's performance, which seemed to confuse him.

"Entry Number Eight," a cocky voice interrupted Lucy before she had even summoned a spirit or begun a cheer.

"Hey hold on, I haven't even started to do my cheer yet!" Lucy shouted.

"I am the very definition of Fairy," the owner of the voice, Evergreen said, walking on stage. "Not to mention the very definition of beauty. I'm the only woman here who embodies everything men desire. Therefor, the winner is me. The lovely Evergreen. Now this idiotic contest can end."

She wore pink sandals, black thigh-high stockings, a green dress that belled outward at the waist and reached to indecently high on her highs and had black on the sides, green gloves that reached mid-bicep and then were attached to the dress with a length of light green cloth that was at the top of the dress, a pair of half-rimmed glasses, pink lipstick, a purple scrunchy to hold her light brown hair up, a pair of earrings that were a simple silver bar dangling from her ears, a silver necklace with four emeralds hanging from it, two per side and spaced out and a ruby in the center, and was holding a maroon folding fan with white fur along the top and a pair of white fur balls dangling from the base of it.

"Fuck," Sado sighed. "I should have known she'd be here too. Dammit. As if Laxus wasn't enough of a headache."

"Can't you go mess up a different contest?" Lucy demanded. "Gimme a break here, I need the prize money!"

"Lucy! Don't look her in the eye!" Gray shouted.

"I'm sorry, what was your name?" Evergreen asked, turning and lifting her glasses.

And just like that, Lucy was made of stone. Several people in the crowd shouted while Sado stood, hands curling into fists. He had a feeling he didn't want to know what was behind the curtain, but he also had a feeling he'd soon find out.

"This is bad," the contest's announcer said. "Everyone! Get out of here! Now!"

Then, everyone was screaming and running away. Sado and the others moved closer to the stage, Makarov moving forward.

"What do you think you're doing Evergreen!?" Makarov demanded. "You'll ruin the festival for everyone!"

"On the contrary," Evergreen laughed as the curtain began to rise. "I think things are just getting interesting."

Sado stared at the petrified Mirajane, flames beginning to flicker from his hands.

"No, Mira!" Elfman shouted.

"She got Erza too!?" Happy gasped.

"Don't be a fool, return them to normal this instant!" Makarov demanded.

"You bitch!" Sado seethed, rocketing off of the ground at Evergreen, flames exploding from his fist as he shot toward her, throwing a punch.

She dove aside and Sado's eyes widened. He was headed straight for Mira.

 _Shit!_ He thought.

Then, a wall of ice shot out of the stage, his entire body crashing into it and halting, sliding to the stage where he sighed in relief, turning to the door where Ur was crouching, hands on the floor and an eyebrow raised. The ice wall sank back into the stage and Sado stood.

"Thanks Ur, welcome back," Sado greeted, turning and throwing a punch at Evergreen again, only for a bolt of lightning to hit the stage and Laxus to grab Sado by the throat, lifting him off the ground.

"Well well, I caught a freak," Laxus grinned, lightning suddenly tearing through Sado's body, making him light up like a christmas tree, screaming in agony as he convulsed.

Then, Laxus turned, hurling Sado into a table, shattering it and walking to Mira, grinning.

"Such a shame someone so beautiful had to go out like this," Laxus said. "I really wanted to..." He grinned evilly at Sado before turning, kissing Mira.

Sado stood, flames exploding off of him instantly, but he hesitated. If he attacked Laxus, Mira was dead.

"Laxus! Stop this at once!" Makarov ordered.

"Or what?" Laxus asked, turning back to them. "You gonna put me in timeout old man?"

"I'll kill you!" Sado snarled, voice much deeper than it should be.

"Oh, scary," Laxus grinned. "I don't think Mira would like that much, do you?"

"She'll get over it," Sado snarled. "You're going to die for that."

"Hah! If you could reach me at all, I'd be scared," Laxus snarled. "Did you even notice?"

"Oh I noticed them," Sado snarled. "Freed, the master of Letter Magic and Dark Ecriture, and Bickslow, a master of Seith Magic and Figure Eyes. I'm well aware that you've given them orders to protect your coward ass. I was just waiting for you to give the order."

"No, what you were doing is hoping I'd be stupid enough to step away from your girlfriend," Laxus grinned. "You know, maybe when this is all over I'll have Evergreen spare her, and then make her my toy."

Sado's flames grew higher.

"Easy Sado," Gray said. "We can't do anything to him yet."

"Trust me, I'm not going to do anything to risk Mira," Sado snarled.

"Turn them back right now!" Makarov shouted.

"Sorry, not going to happen," Laxus smirked. "You see, as stone these girls are quite fragile. In other words, I'm taking them all hostage. Wither you follow the rules or I shatter them all one by one. Or, I could just smash 'em all right now."

"I'm not amused Laxus, stop fooling around!" Makarov seethed.

"I'm serious old man," Laxus said as Freed landed beside him.

"I've always wondered who was the strongest in the guild," Freed said. "Now it's time to find out."

"I'll prove it right now!" Sado snarled. "Fight me! All four of you!"

"You must think we're fools," Laxus said. "I take more than two steps away from my hostages and Ur there will shield them in a wall of ice that both of us together can't break, allowing you to go all out on me. No, I think we'll be following the rules. Even you. But really there's only one rule. Whoever's left standing in the end is the winner. It's a Fairy Tail Battle Royale!"

"Nice and simple!" Natsu grinned. "That's just how I like it. I'm fired up now!"

"Glad you could see it my way," Laxus said. "If nothing else you got the right attitude."

"Natsu," Sado snarled. "Laxus is mine. Anyone else you want, you can have. I'll even fight you myself if you want. But only after I've forced Evergreen to turn Mira back, and killed Laxus."

"Big words," Laxus grinned. "Didn't go so hot for you last time, though."

"I stopped fighting," Sado said. "You didn't. This time you'll stop breathing. I won't."

"Like I said, big words," Laxus smirked.

"Naturally, if you want me to turn the girls back to normal, you're going to have to defeat us first," Evergreen said.

"But those aren't bad odds," Bickslow said. "There's four of us and like a hundred of you guys."

"Lots of you! Lots of you!" his possessed totem-heads chanted.

"You have three hours and not a second more," Evergreen said. "After that these pretty statues of yours will be reduced to dust."

"All of Magnolia will serve as the battlefield," Laxus said. "The fight will begin when, and if, you can find us."

"Laxus, how could you!?" Makarov demanded, growing giant. "I won't stand for this!"

"Now now, simmer down, old man!" Laxus grinned, shining brightly. "It's all part of the festival right!? It'll be fun! Let the Battle of Fairy Tail begin!"

Then, the light faded and he was gone.

"Let's go!" Elfman shouted. "We gotta man up and go save our girls!"

Every wizard in the building began to shout and cheer, sprinting out of the guild hall. Sado took a deep breath then turned, walking toward the door.

"Sado," Makarov said.

"Master," Sado said. "If you ask it of me afterward, I'll leave the guild. I'll even go to prison. But I'm _going_ to kill him. And I'm probably going to cripple Evergreen. For now, though, I'm the best bet for ending this quickly."

Makarov hesitated before stepping aside. "Please, I know what he's done is unforgivable. But please don't kill him."

Sado stared at him in silence for a moment before continuing to the door. He stopped at the door, staring up at the ancient writing above.

"Stone statues and anyone over the age of eighty years may not pass," Sado read, Makarov, who was standing beside him, sighing.

"I see," Makarov said. "Freed's enchantments."

"It's fine," Sado said. "I'll deal with him too."

He stepped forward and collided with the barrier as though it were a wall. He took a step back, growling in rage. On the other side, Gray and Ur stared at him in surprise.

"Over eighty huh?" Sado growled. "You fucked up Freed. That's some useless barrier if it can't even tell my age!"

He shot forward, launched by his flames and crashed into the barrier again. This time, the writing spread, forming a wall, which bowed outward. Then, it snapped back, hurling him backward.

"Makarov, Natsu," Sado said. "I need a boost."

Both nodded, Makarov's hand growing to the same size as the rest of his body and Sado stepped onto it. Then, just as Makarov hurled Sado, Natsu's flaming arm crashed into Sado's feet. Sado shot forward, his own flames blasting out of his feet as he held his hands out, Ur and Gray clearing out of his way. A massive flaming blade erupted from his hands into the barrier less than a second before Sado hit. The ground lurched, a sound like an explosion went off, and Sado skidded to a stop on the outside of the barrier, grinning.

"Thanks guys," Sado said, standing. "Now then. Which to go after first."

"You okay?" Ur asked.

"Ur, find Freed and tear him apart," Sado said. "Gray, Bickslow's yours. I'll be handling Evergreen myself."

Both ice wizards nodded and ran in opposite directions. Sado cracked his neck just before his flames exploded back into existence, reaching well above the Guild hall as he turned, walking away from the guild hall.

"You want a war, Laxus? Fine. Just sit tight. I'll be right there to kill you!"

* * *

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	25. Chapter 25

I do not own any of the original Fairy Tail characters.

* * *

Warpath

Sado stopped as he spotted Alzack standing down the road from him. Instantly, a barrier rose around them, declaring that they had to fight. Sado continued walking.

"Now who...oh shit!" Alzack shouted. "Guns mag-"

Sado appeared beside him, slamming a fist into his gut and dropping him. The barrier faded and he continued walking. About a block later, Laki skidded into his path and another barrier rose. The wooden club Laki had in her hand broke apart instantly as Sado's flames spiked, growing out of control.

"What gives!?" Laki demanded before her eyes widened as she stared at Sado. "No way!"

"Laki, close your eyes," Sado said. "I'll make this quick."

"But...I have to...save them," Laki said.

"Look at me, Laki," Sado said. "This barrier negates all magic, and yet I'm on fire. Tell me which of us you think stands a better chance of taking down Laxus and the Thunder Legion."

"Okay," Laki said, squeezing her eyes closed. "Please be gent-"

He appeared behind her, removing his flames from his hand and chopping her in the back of the neck, knocking her out. As soon as the barrier was gone, his flames returned to merely shooting from his hands again.

"Keep sending friends my way Freed, it won't save you or Evergreen," Sado snarled, continuing to walk.

Warren and Nab both stumbled upon Sado as he was walking along, but before they could do anything, he had knocked them out. Then, finally, he stepped into a shopping center just as Evergreen turned Elfman to stone, Elfman in his Beast form.

"Evergreen!" Sado snarled, the woman spinning toward him, eyes wide with fear.

"What..." she began to back away, but when she turned to sprint he was already behind her, catching her by the throat and lifting her off the ground. "But how?"

"You think anyone's going to stop and fight against me?" Sado asked. "Let's take this somewhere less populated."

He jumped, flames launching him to a nearby rooftop, Evergreen still stuck in his grip. Once he landed, he hurled her and she flipped, a set of dragonfly-like wings extending from her outfit, controlled by magic. She stopped herself, landing on her feet and glaring at him.

"What's the matter?" Sado snarled, his flames growing even larger, engulfing his entire body. "You're not afraid of me now, are you bitch?"

"Not at all," Evergreen said, lifting her glasses, her eyes flashing.

Sado smirked as Evergreen's face contorted in confusion.

"Why isn't it working!?" she demanded, eyes flashing several more times.

"Simple," Sado snarled. "You wear glasses to control your ability, and therefore can't use it on anyone wearing glasses. These flames function as my glasses."

"I see," Evergreen snarled. "Then I'll just beat you the hard way!" Golden dust began to form around her and she opened her fan. "Fairy Machine Gun, Leprechaun!"

She swung her fan, launching a barrage of golden spikes that exploded when they met Sado's flames. Sado waited, watching the explosions bend around his flames in silence. Finally, the smoke cleared and be began to walk forward, Evergreen's eyes widening in fear.

"No!" she gasped. "Impossible!"

She shot forward, golden dust surrounding him.

"Fairy Magic, Gremlin!" she shouted.

This time, before they even began to explode, he jumped, slamming both hands into her back and sending her crashing to the ground where the explosions caught her, instead. He landed beside her as she rolled over, groaning. He picked her up by the throat, careful to keep his flames away from her as he began to squeeze.

"Fix her!" he snarled. "NOW! ! !"

"It's done!" Evergreen choked out. "The spell's cancelled!"

"Good," he snarled, slamming her down into the roof, knocking her unconscious. He turned, looking to the church where he knew Laxus would be waiting. He dropped back into the street, continuing to walk along. Before he could go far, however, glass orbs began to float out of the church, surrounding the city, each orb having a yellow lightning-shaped lacrima inside.

"Thunder Palace," Sado snarled, looking between the lacrima and the church. "Damn you Laxus."

* * *

Ur stopped as Freed appeared in front of her looking exactly as he had been in the guild hall, green hair with two lightning-bolt-shaped spikes on the sides, red coat, sword in hand, and a bored expression. She smirked, placing her hands together.

"I must say, you're quite attractive Ur," Freed said.

"Why thank you," Ur smirked. "Normally I'd accept a drink from you, but given how much you all pissed off my students, I think I'll settle for kicking your ass."

"As you wish," Freed said, slashing. "Dark Ecriture, Pain!"

Glowing purple script appeared on her chest and faded. Then, a moment later, her world erupted into unimaginable agony. Ur screamed, clutching at her head as the pain tore at her nerve endings. She knew Freed was speaking, but she couldn't process his words. He slashed again, and fear joined the pain, again it was more than she had ever experienced, even when facing Deliora. Another slash and both the pain and fear began to get worse. Then, her daughter flashed through her mind and her eyes opened. It wasn't the worst she had felt. It was close, but not the worst. She pushed herself up, Freed staring at her in shock. She put her hands back together.

"Impossible!" Freed shouted. "You can't possibly be standing! Dark Ecriture, Pain! Pain! Pain!"

The pain began to get worse, Ur's entire body trembling, her magic barely responding through it, but the tears flooding down her face were from an entirely different pain, one that his spell couldn't begin to compare to.

"Your spell's impressive," Ur said. "But I've felt more pain than you could ever cause me. Physical pain can only get so bad. But true pain will always be worse. Like the pain of losing a child. Compared to what I felt when Ultear died, this is absolutely nothing!"

"Very well then!" Freed snarled. "If you're in so much pain, I'll put you out of your misery! Dark Ecriture, Dea-"

"Ice Make Rose Garden!" Ur shouted, a massive sea of pink-tinted ice flowers shooting from her feet to Freed, freezing him solid just as Mira landed behind her.

"I see you had it handled," Mira said.

"Yes," Ur said. "Sado is on his way to the church to deal with Laxus. He's going to kill him this time."

"Sado isn't going to kill Laxus," Mira said. "He's not a murderer."

"But is he under control?" Ur asked. "That's what happens when he loses control, right? People die?"

"People die every day," Mira said. "Sado's not a murderer. He'll be fine."

"You have so much faith in him," Ur smiled just as her ice exploded, Freed rising out of it.

He was different now, though. He had transformed his upper body into that of a demon. A pair of horns grew backward on his head, black fur covered his arms and the sides and back of his torso, his skin had turned a dark grey, there was a wing-like design on his chest, he had massive pointed ears on the sides of his head, pointed teeth, light grey scales around his right eye, which had turned black, and a pair of spikes had grown from his elbows. From his back a pair of glowing purple runes extended outward, forming wings.

"He looks like a demon," Ur said, placing her hands together, only for Mira to set her own hand on Ur's shoulder, stopping her as she shifted back into her devil form.

"You've already faced a devil, right?" Mira asked. "I haven't gotten to stretch my muscles for a while." She extended her wings from her back, cracking her neck. "Allow me."

Ur nodded and Mira blasted off the ground, reaching Freed instantly, her fist blasting into his gut, launching him backward. He crashed into the ground before flipping, a sphere of dark magic energy with a red aura formed around both of his fists, a similar one forming around both of Mira's, but hers having their usual purple aura. Freed shot forward, punching at Mira rapidly, Mira avoiding the strikes, driving her own into Freed each time he missed her. Finally, she clasped her hands, swinging them from her left into the side of his head, blasting him sideways. He flipped, stopping himself and growling in rage as she held out her hand, a black spell circle forming in front of her.

"Darkness Stream," Mira said, dozens of pitch black hands of magic energy shooting out of the circle at Freed, who began to fly around, avoiding them.

Finally they faded and he stopped, roaring angrily, his black fur spreading down his legs until hid-calf, below with became grey scales and clawed toes, three in front and one in back. Then, a black and red spell circle formed in front of him.

"Darkness Breath!" he shouted, a massive blast of dark energy forming into a tornado, blasting into Mira who began to shoot backward, crossing her arms to shield her face. Then, he appeared in front of her, a sphere of his dark magic in his hands. "Darkness Flash Bomb!"

She grunted as it exploded against her chest, blasting her down into the water. She opened her eyes and smirked, gripping the water with her magic and spinning, rising back out of it with the water spinning around her in a tornado of its own. Then, she looked up at Freed, glaring.

"Evil Explosion!"

She hurled the water in her hands at Freed, sending the tornado itself at him as a massive spinning blast of water. It exploded into him, launching him backward and she stopped on level with him, forming a black sphere like a vortex, a black spell circle forming and then being sucked into it instantly.

"I haven't used this for a while," Mira said. "Soul Extinction!"

She shoved it at him and it exploded outward into a gigantic beam of energy, tiny violet lights seeming to race through it as it engulfed Freed instantly. Then, it exploded, purple and black magic energy filling the sky for several seconds, everyone stopping to watch. As the smoke cleared, Freed fell, crashing down in a crater and groaning, Mira landing over him. He stared up at her, eyes wide with fear.

"Relax," Mira said, transforming back into her human form. "You've lost Freed."

"Why aren't you killing me?" Freed asked.

"Because this battle is meaningless," Mira said. "I won't kill you because we're allies. We're from the same guild. That means we laugh together, we celebrate together, and we grow together."

"No, Laxus is my only ally!" Freed shouted.

"It doesn't have to be that way," Mira said. "It's perfectly fine to have that one person you trust more than anyone. It's human nature. But that doesn't mean you shut out the rest of us. We're part of something bigger. We're like family. If you just reach out, I promise there will always be someone there for you." She reached out, taking his hand and smiling. "Once you finally get that connection, you'll never forget that it's there. You're surrounded by people who care for you."

Freed began to cry, raising a hand to his face. "I never wanted it...to come to this!"

"Yeah I know that," Mira smiled. "How about next year, we enjoy the Harvest Festival together? As a family should."

Her smile faded and she pushed herself up as Ur arrived with Elfman, who Mira had had with her.

"Please take Freed back to the guild hall," Mira said.

"I will," Ur nodded. "Go help Sado."

Mira nodded, transforming again and taking off.

* * *

Sado stared at the light and smiled. "Stretching your muscles Mira? You didn't have to go all out like that against Freed."

"Your girlfriend's as much a sadistic nut job as you are," Bixlow said.

"Sadist! Sadist!" his totems chanted, only to burst into flames as Sado glared at him, letting his arm drop back to his side.

"Hm...that's going to be problematic," Bixlow said. "I didn't think I have any non-flammable toys in town."

"So I see you beat Gray," Sado mused. "That's a shame. Now you've made the mistake of standing in my way."

"Sado!" Lucy shouted, jogging to a stop beside him, Cana on his other side. "We'll handle this creep. You go and deal with Laxus."

"How much time do we have left?" Sado asked.

"Less than an hour until he fires the Thunder Palace," Cana said. "Can you do it?"

Sado grinned just as a cloaked figure with a half-dozen staves on his back stepped out ahead of them, looking back at him from under his cloth mask.

"Oh yeah," Sado grinned. "I've got this." He walked past Bixlow, who made no move to stop him, then stopped beside Mystogan. "Long time no see."

Mystogan nodded, setting the end of his usual staff, one with a fan at the other end, on the ground. He looked back toward Bixlow, then at the church just down the road.

"Shall we?" Sado grinned.

Mystogan nodded and Sado grinned, cracking his knuckles as they both turned toward the church.

* * *

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	26. Chapter 26

I do not own any of the original Fairy Tail characters.

* * *

Laxus

"Allow me to start," Mystogan said as they reached the door.

"I'll watch for an opening," Sado said. "I'm interested in seeing what you can do finally, since you keep refusing to fight me."

"All of my staves are flammable," Mystogan shrugged. "If I lose, you'll be fighting him alone."

"When Erza shows up, I'll be busy fighting, so tell her to deal with the Thunder Palace for me," Sado said. "I'd do it myself but I have to kill Laxus for earlier."

Mystogan snorted in amusement and nodded. "You're assuming I'll lose."

"So are you," Sado smirked.

"Mystogan, welcome," Laxus said. "You certainly took your time Sado."

Sado smirked. "Laugh while you can, Laxus."

"You seem to have cooled off a bit now that your girl's walking around," Laxus said.

"Trust me, I'm still going to rip your head from your shoulders," Sado smirked. "But first I get to see the Great Mystogan in action."

"True," Laxus said. "I'm excited to see which of us is the strongest, Mystogan. You or me."

"Don't be so quick to rule out Erza," Mystogan said. "And Mira has her power back, from what I've heard. Of course, we're _all_ second place to Sado."

"Him?" Laxus snorted. "He's got skill and he's a powerhouse, sure, but he's not the strongest. Neither are Erza or Mira. None of them are as strong as us."

"You underestimate them all," Mystogan said. "You're either blind or more arrogant than I thought. Just so you know, Sado constantly has to keep his power suppressed by Master Makarov so that he doesn't destroy everything around him and go on a rampage."

"Oh really?" Laxus grinned. "Well now I'm shaking in my boots."

"Mystogan, no stalling," Sado said. "I want to beat him before Mira arrives."

Mystogan nodded, swinging his staff. It fired a blast of purple energy at Laxus, which Laxus countered with a lightning bolt. The two blasts exploded, shattering the windows of the church. After a moment, Mystogan grabbed the staves from his back, driving them into the floor in a semicircle around himself, purple magic energy shining from the floor.

"Skyscraper," Mystogan said, more purple light shining from below Laxus as a purple spell seal appeared in front of Mystogan.

Then, a shroud of purple magic formed around Laxus, binding him and draining his magic for several seconds before Laxus broke free, laughing.

"Now that's funny!" Laxus smirked. "Did you seriously think you'd be able to defeat me using some kind of stupid illusion?"

"Impressive," Mystogan said. "But it seems you're still a bit slow on the uptake."

"What?" Laxus growled as a column of light appeared, several spell circles of varying sizes and colors forming over him.

"Sleep. Five Layer Magic Circle, Sacred Song!" Mystogan said, holding out his staff.

"You think I'm the slow one huh?" Laxus grinned, a yellow spell circle forming under Mystogan, lightning shooting out and blasting him at the same time as Mystogan's spell began to go off.

After a moment, both kicked up a layer of dust, all the spell circles fading and Mystogan began to rise, pointing at Laxus, purple magic energy rising off the floor and trying to catch Laxus, only for Laxus to transform into lightning, flashing around the room before crashing into Mystogan, blasting him into the floor, only for Mystogan to fade and reappear a moment later.

"So here you are," Natsu and Erza both said from the door, Sado sighing.

"Mystogan, you're taking too long," Sado said. "I'm tagging in. Erza, leave him to me. It's my score to settle. Go and deal with the lacrima. Natsu, you go too."

"But I wanna fight him!" Natsu whined.

"Natsu, remember my promise," Sado said. "I'll fight you myself after I'm through with him. But Laxus is mine."

"Nah," Natsu said. "Fighting you is always either really boring, or really painful. I'd rather just fight Laxus my self."

He stepped forward and Sado appeared in front of him, flames encasing his body, slamming him into the ground.

"JUST LEAVE! ! !" Sado roared, spinning and hurling Natsu back out of the church, down the road.

"You're wide open!" Laxus shouted.

Sado turned, bracing himself for an attack, only for the blast to hit Mystogan, blasting his cowl and mask into shreds, revealing his blue hair and signature tattoo.

"Jellal," Sado said. "Explains some things, like how you knew so much about me back at the Tower of Heaven."

"Jellal, you're...alive?" Erza breathed.

"Wait, so Mystogan was really Jellal?" Natsu asked.

"Erza, please forgive me," Mystogan said. "I was afraid you'd see this. I'm not your friend Jellal. I do know of him, but...I'm not him."

"Wait, like, amnesia and a new personality, not him?" Sado asked. "Or like, alternate reality, not him?"

Mystogan stared at him blankly.

"What?" Sado asked. "Do you know who I am? Alternate realities would not be the weirdest thing I've ever heard of."

"I'm sorry," Mystogan said. "I must be going."

"Hey, wait up!" Natsu shouted, taking a step forward.

Flames exploded into existence around Sado again and he turned toward Natsu, snarling, voice deepening.

"I told you to leave!" Sado snarled.

"Oh, um...right. Goodbye!" He turned, sprinting away, dragging Erza by the arm.

Sado turned back to Laxus who grinned, tossing his jacket and headphones aside, grinning.

"It's about time," Laxus grinned. "Your girlfriend's not here to save you this time! You know, earlier when she and I were making out, I could swear I felt her trying to kiss ba-"

He stopped as Sado slammed both fists into his back, the flames exploding and blasting several support columns. Laxus began to turn but Sado grabbed him by the face, rocketing out of the church and into the air, hurling him before blasting into him, a fireball around himself. The fireball exploded instantly, hurling Laxus out of the city and through three lacrima, the blast making Laxus scream in agony until he hit the ground. He stood as Sado crashed to the ground in front of him, snarling, the flames rapidly forming to his body. His claws and elbow spikes formed first. Laxus shot forward,moving at the speed of lightning and punching at Sado, lightning coating his fist. Sado caught it, Laxus's skin burning and bubbling instantly. Laxus screamed.

"Lightning Dragon Roar!" Laxus shouted, moving to blast him at point blank range.

Sado opened his mouth, a jet of flames roaring out of his mouth instantly, blasting straight through Laxus's spell and blasting his upper chest and face for several seconds before Sado spun, hurling him, sending him plowing through the ground a hundred meters before he bounced, skipping across the ground another two hundred before Sado blasted down on top of him, sticking him into a crater. Laxus groaned and Sado grabbed him by the throat, lifting him then slamming him back down once, twice, three times. Then, he spun, releasing Laxus, his elbow spike splitting Laxus's torso open before Sado smashed his foot into Laxus's chest, a jet of flames launching him backward, cauterizing the gash into a scar before burning his chest, blasting him into a boulder. Laxus groaned, staggering out of the boulder before growling in rage.

"Enough!" Laxus seethed, lightning beginning to fly off of him, tearing the ground apart, his eyes and mouth lightning up with so much lightning magic that Sado couldn't see his eyes.

A blast of lightning flashed out as Sado and he turned profile, allowing it to flash past in front of him, the ground remaining unchanged for a second before splitting apart and exploding. Sado shot forward, Laxus zipping around before crashing into Sado's back, blasting him into the ground then kicking him. As Sado flew, he flipped inhaling.

"Lightning Dragon Roar!" Laxus roared, a massive wall of lightning shooting at Sado.

Sado roared, sending a wall of snow-white flames back, the flames blasting through the lightning again. Then, less than a second away from engulfing and incinerating Laxus, they went out, Sado appearing over Laxus, Roaring in rage, both flaming clawed hands blasting into his back, blasting him into the ground again. This time, Laxus rolled over, raising a hand and firing a lightning bolt at Sado, only for Sado to lean out of the way then begin to slam his fists into Laxus's face rapidly, roaring as he did, speeding up and hitting with more force. Then, he stopped, fist an inch from Laxus's face. Laxus lay motionless, Sado waited.

Finally, Laxus groaned and Sado growled, spitting on Laxus's face, his flames going out as he stood, picking up Laxus by the back of his shirt, dragging him back toward the city. He saw Mira reaching the church as he reached the gate.

"You're pathetic, Laxus," Sado snarled, looking back at him. "All that power, and it turned out that my fight with Natsu was more than ten times harder than my fight with you. You're a disgrace."

He looked up at the sky, but the lacrima were all gone. He walked to Fairy Tail, arriving after everyone else, including Mirajane.

"I'm telling you, we need to find Sado before he kills Laxus!" Evergreen said. "He's a monster!"

"He's not a monster!" Mira snapped. "And he's not going to kill Laxus!"

"He had every intention of it," Ur said.

"Did I?" Sado said, hurling Laxus into the guild, Laxus crashing down in a heap.

"Is he..." Mira trailed off, staring at Laxus.

Finally, Laxus groaned, fingers twitching and brow furrowing as he slowly rolled himself onto his back, off the worst of his burns, everyone gasping in shock at the severity, then staring at Sado, who was practically unharmed.

"You...did this alone?" Natsu gaped.

"I was out for blood," Sado said, Natsu's eyes widening as he nodded.

"I suppose you would be after..." Natsu glanced at Mira who was glaring down at Laxus.

"Where's Master Makarov?" Sado asked.

"He's in the infirmary," Levy said. "You just missed Porlyusica."

"Miraculously I don't need her," Sado said. "For once. Anyway, I'm going to go check on the Master. Hopefully he can fix the damage."

"Damage?" Natsu asked. "I thought you said you weren't hurt."

"My body's not what I need him to fix," Sado said, walking past him to the infirmary. He sat down beside Makarov, who smiled, shaking his head.

"You nearly broke my seal," Makarov sighed, his face darkening. "Did you..."

"He's alive," Sado said. "He's probably on his way to the hospital now."

"Thank you," Makarov said. "But...why?"

"Because you asked me to," Sado said. "I'll come back when you're feeling better."

"No need," Makarov said. "Repairing it is no trouble at all. It's actually a very easy spell. I'll teach Mira once I've recovered."

"Thank you," Sado bowed as Makarov swiping his hand around through the air for a moment before the suppressor seal on Sado spread from him, cracked.

The cracks quickly sealed up and it shrunk again, Sado sighing as he felt his flames calm themselves, allowing his emotions to calm as well.

"Thank you Master," Sado said. "Now I think I'm going to go and rest as well."

Makarov nodded and Sado left, heading for his room.

* * *

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	27. Chapter 27

I do not own any of the original Fairy Tail characters.

* * *

Matchmaker

Sado sighed, yawning as he stretched and looked around the guild hall. Mira was seated beside him, resting her head on his shoulder and starting to fall asleep. Sado glanced at Juvia, who was sitting quietly beside Gray, following Sado and Mira's advice to the letter, not that Gray seemed to care. He was paying her absolutely no mind, instead simply talking to Natsu, who was snacking on some fire. Sado glanced the other way to where Lucy was lying on a table, depressed. Cana sat beside her, complaining about needing a boyfriend. A grin spread over Sado's face.

"What are you planning?" Ur asked from across the table from Sado, who winked.

"Hey Mira," Sado said, Mira lazily looking up at him. "Wanna have some fun with the others?"

A knowing smile slowly spread over her face, and she sat up. "What did you have in mind?"

"I'm going to go send Gray and Juvia on a date, she's trying hard and he's doing nothing," Sado said. "I think it's about time we got Lucy and Natsu together."

Ur cracked a grin from across the table, nodding. Mira smiled as well and nodded.

"Let me handle Lucy," Mira said. "Women are easy."

"Men are easier," Sado snorted. "I'll handle Natsu."

"Let me talk to Gray, then," Ur smiled. "I'll smarten him up real quick."

Sado grinned and nodded and all three stood. Mira headed for Lucy, Sado and Ur walking toward Natsu and Gray. A few people in the guild hall stopped to watch, a couple realizing what they were up to and chuckling.

"Hey Natsu," Sado said. "Can I talk to you a minute?"

Natsu nodded, standing and following him just as Ur dropped onto the bench beside Gray, grinning evilly at him, Gray paling slightly.

"Hey Gray," Ur grinned.

"Uh, hey Ur," Gray said. "What...uh...what can I do for you? You're not looking for a sparring match again, right? Because I just got this drink and-"

"Lovely day isn't it?" Ur interrupted.

"Uh...yes?" Gray asked, eying her suspiciously.

"I think it looks like a perfect day for a date," Ur grinned.

"Bitch! You're working with Sado aren't you?" Gray asked before paling as Ur cracked her knuckles.

"What was that word you just said?" Ur growled.

"Uh...n-nothing! I'm sorry!" Gray said, just before Ur drilled her fist down into the top of his head.

"There, now get the hell out of here and take Juvia on a date," Ur said.

"Yes Ma'am!" Gray shouted, already almost to the door, Juvia being dragged along by the hand, blushing furiously but smiling.

* * *

"Hey Lucy," Mira smiled, sitting across from her. "Hey Cana, how are you?"

"I need a man," Cana said, Mira grinning knowingly. "Not like that!"

Cana laughed and Mira giggled.

"Well, you could always try walking outside," Mira said. "If it's you, there'd be a line of guys willing to date you."

"Yes but that's no fun," Cana said. "I want to have to work for it."

Mira laughed. "I suppose. Hey, speaking of couples, I think natsu might like someone."

"Say what?" Cana grinned, Lucy leaning in to listen as well. "What makes you think that?"

"Well," Mira said. "He's been really moody recently, and Ur was telling me he was asking all kinds of things, like what couples usually do on dates, and how to properly talk to women."

"That _does_ sound suspicious," Cana grinned.

"Do you know who it is?" Lucy asked.

Mira smiled devilishly. "Ur said that he wasn't specific, but he was asking about how to make a date feel like a date, when you already spend almost all day every day with them."

Cana grinned wickedly, realizing who Mira meant. Lucy looked confused.

"But I never seen him hanging out with girls," Lucy said.

"I guess you match your hair after all you dumb blonde," Cana teased.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Lucy demanded.

"Lucy, he was talking about you!" Cana laughed, Lucy's face turning scarlet instantly.

"W-What?" Lucy said. "N-No way! He's got to have meant someone else! Right?"

"I don't know," Mira said. "You two _do_ act like you've been dating for a while already. And you two would actually make a really cute couple."

"Ah! No stop it!" Lucy said, face so red Mira half expected steam to shoot out of her ears, Lucy's fists held to her eyes. "I-I-It's not like that! I-I d-don't...n-n-not like that!"

Mira giggled, winking to Cana, whose eyes widened before she snorted with laughter, setting her head down and pounding on the table as she laughed.

"I-I-It's not funny!" Lucy whined.

* * *

"So what did you want to talk about?" Natsu asked.

"I was thinking about proposing to Mira," Sado said, Natsu staring at him in surprise. "I've wanted to for a while now, but I'm just not sure how to do it. Anyway, as I was thinking about it, I couldn't help but notice the way you're as protective of Lucy as I am of Mira."

"What?" Natsu blinked.

"Anything you want to confess, Natsu?" Sado grinned, Natsu blushing.

"No way man, Lucy's just a friend!" Natsu said.

"Really?" Sado asked. "That's too bad. Just a couple of days ago I overheard her asking Ur for advice about how to make a guy notice you like them when they're completely clueless."

"Hey what's that supposed to mean!?" Natsu said.

"Obviously I'm saying that she likes you but you're too clueless to notice," Sado snorted. "Haven't you ever noticed how she smiles just a little wider when you're there, and how she's always getting flustered around you? Or how her hand seems to linger just a little longer when she brushes your shoulder or your hand?"

"Wha...she...well...um..." Natsu's face was growing steadily darker and Sado grinned.

"Haven't you ever wondered why she never really kicks you out of her house, or stops you from barging in?" Sado asked, Natsu's eyes widening slightly. "She has spirits strong enough to kick you out, even if you'd beat them in a fight. And yet she doesn't do it. What's more, she even takes baths knowing you're in the other room, according to Gray."

"W-Well...th-that's...that's because..." Natsu's face grew even redder and smoke actually did begin to rise from his ears, making Sado restrain a laugh. "Natsu, are you sure you don't like Lucy?"

Natsu's eyes widened and he swallowed hard before shaking his head.

"N-No!" Natsu said. "Th-There's no way! Sh-She's just a f-friend!"

"You don't sound so sure," Sado said. "Tell you what, I have a way for you to find out." He stepped up beside Natsu, looking an arm around his neck. "Ask Lucy to meet you, say, by the tree in the park at sunset tonight. Tell her to dress nicely. You put on a button-up shirt and a tie, along with some slacks and actual shoes, then you take her to that new restaurant over on the other side of town." He glanced at Natsu, whose eyes were stuck wide open and whose face was beet red. "While you're there, make small talk. And not the awkward, nice weather we're having, kind of small talk. As her about things like...her favorite kind of mission, or her favorite color, or her favorite celestial spirit. Try to remember the color and mission, though, because those are important later. Hell, if you have nothing better to talk about, tell her you want to know more about her, about her past. But be respectful about it. I know you can be respectful, you've done it before. Then, if you decide you like her, try going on more of the kinds of missions she likes. And be honest with her when she asks you questions. Unless it's anything about asking someone questions about relationships. If she asks if you've done that recently, just deny it. Think you can handle that?"

Natsu managed to jerk his head in a nod, taking a breath and forcing his face back to neutral. "What if I decide I don't really like her like that?"

"Then after a couple of dates, let her know," Sado said. "But be extremely respectful about it."

Natsu nodded, turning and heading back to his table as Sado walked back to his own as well, sitting on the same side as Ur and Mira.

"I told him Lucy was talking to you about a clueless guy, Ur," Sado said.

"Mira used me as a scapegoat too," Ur chuckled.

"Cana was very helpful," Mira smiled. "Lucy's definitely got Natsu stuck in her head now."

"And there's no way Natsu's not going to be thinking about Lucy," Sado smiled. "How was Gray?"

"Stubborn, but they're on their date now," Ur smiled. "And for fear of my wrath, he'll actually give Juvia a chance."

"Good," Sado smiled. "They're good for each other."

Ur nodded in agreement before laughing. "Well, now that you two taught her how to act normal, at least."

Sado chuckled. "It takes practice to be normal. She'll get the hang of it eventually."

Mira nodded as well and leaned back on Sado's shoulder, yawning as he wrapped his arms around her, smiling.

* * *

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	28. Chapter 28

I do not own any of the original Fairy Tail characters.

* * *

Alliance

"Where are Natsu and Lucy?" Sado asked as he sat down beside Mira.

"They're on a date," Mira smiled.

"Another one?" Sado snorted. "That's three in three days. Man, at this rate, they'l either be married or having a kid inside a month."

"Oh God, please don't get them started," Gray groaned as Mira and Ur looked to each other excitedly.

"Calm down, I was kidding," Sado said, just as Reedus finished drawing his Dark Guild diagram for Mira. "So, that's the Baram Alliance, huh?"

Mira nodded, standing as everyone began to gather around, Lucy and Natsu arriving at the same moment and joining them, their hands still clasped.

"What's that?" Lucy asked.

"These are all of the dark guilds," Mira said.

"And what does the circle in the center represent?" Gray asked from his spot beside Juvia.

"I know exactly what that is," Juvia spoke up. "That's the Baram Alliance. It's the three most powerful Dark Guilds. Oracion Seis, Tartaros, and Grimoire Heart. The other Dark Guilds are used by the Baram Alliance to do the dirty work they don't want to do. However, there is one on this chart that remains independent. Raven Tail."

"I recognize Eisenwald," Lucy said.

"Oh yeah, that's right," Sado said. "You guys _were_ the team that took them down weren't you?"

Lucy nodded.

"So Eisenwald was actually just a kind of sub-guild that worked under this Oracion Seis?" Gray asked.

"I've seen a lot of these names before," Wakaba said.

"I think some of 'em even used to be legit," Macao said.

"There was one more, Ghoul Spear, which the Thunder Legion took out," Mira said.

"Most of the guilds that Gajeel and I took out when we were with Phantom Lord were under Oracion Seis," Juvia said. "Except for Fairy Tail, of course. But we're all great friends now, right?"

"I wouldn't remind them of that if I were you," Gray said, Juvia looking slightly offended.

"He's joking Juvia," Sado said. "You're part of the family."

Juvia smiled happily.

"Creepy," Lucy said, trembling. "Hey you guys, do you think they'll take it out on us?"

Natsu wrapped his arms around her protectively and she smiled, Sado holding back a laugh. Three days ago, they barely payed any attention to each other unless Natsu annoyed her. Now they were almost as inseparable as Sado and Mira.

"Ah relax," Wakaba said. "Don't worry your pretty little head about them. From what I hear they've only got six member in the guild anyway."

"Yeah they sound like small potatoes if you ask me," Macao added.

"Don't underestimate them," Mira said.

"Each one of the six members is easily as strong or stronger than our S ranked wizards," Sado said. "Also, there aren't six. There are seven. One of them is kept sealed away by the other members for their own protection."

"How do you know that?" Natsu asked.

"I...remember it," Sado said. "I don't know how or where I learned it...but I can remember it."

"Don't you have amnesia?" Lucy asked.

"Yes," Sado said. "I can't remember anything from somewhere around the time I was thirteen."

"But, wait, that barrier that Freed put up thought you were over eighty," Natsu said.

"True," Sado shrugged. "I don't know what to tell you. I was a child when I first remember, and I grew up just like anyone else."

"Anyway, the point it, don't take the Oracion Seis lightly," Mira said.

"Speaking of the Oracion Seis," Makarov said, stepping into the guild hall. "Word has come down. We must destroy them."

Everyone stared in shock. Sado stood, turning to him.

"But Master, what do you mean by that?" Erza asked.

"Oracion Seis' activity was the focus of much discussion at the conference," Makarov said. "They pose an urgent threat that can no longer be ignored. Therefor they must be dealt with immediately. We will take them down before they can harm any of our fellow guilds we are sworn to protect."

"We gotta do all the heavy lifting, right?" Gray asked. "Typical."

"Fairy Tail will be taking them on by ourselves?" Juvia asked.

"This enemy is far more powerful than any other we have faced before," Makarov said. "To fight them alone would be too dangerous. To fight them alone would surely incur the wrath of the entire Baram Alliance in no time. Which is why, Fairy Tail will join a coalition of Magical Guilds."

"A coalition?" everyone asked.

"Fairy Tail, Blue Pegasus, Lamia Scale, and Cait Shelter," Makarov said. "These four guilds will select members to represent them in the Allied Force. Together we will work to bring down the enemy!"

"But we can hand-" Natsu dropped as Sado kicked him in the back of his knees, making him smack his chin on a table. "Ow! What the hell Sado?"

"Shut up and think for a second Natsu," Sado said. "I mean _really_ think. Each person in the Oracion Seis is at least as strong as Erza. Have you ever once defeated Erza?"

"Well...no," Natsu said. "But I've beaten you, and you beat Laxus, who _would_ beat Erza."

"You only beat me because you were able to eat my flames for power, and even then you almost lost," Sado said. "Your victory against me was literally only because you're usually fire proof, and even that didn't hold up. You can't beat the Oracion Seis. It'll take everything you've got, and probably more, for you to beat even one member. Without this coalition, we have no hope of winning this fight."

Natsu stared at him before nodding. Sado turned back to Makarov.

"When do we leave?" Sado asked.

"Soon," Makarov said. "I've already chosen who will be going. Sado, Mirajane, Erza, Lucy, Natsu, Grey, Juvia, and Ur."

"Can I bring Happy?" Natsu asked.

"Sure," Makarov shrugged. "Now, all of you go and pack."

They all nodded and left to their respective homes. Barely a few hours later, they were crammed into a tiny wagon, Mira curled up on Sado's lap, Juvia curled up on Gray's lap, and Lucy kneeling beside Natsu, who was struggling not to vomit over the side. That left Ur to sit in Erza's lap, Erza having had the decency to requip out of armor into a white blouse and a light blue skirt.

"Comfortable Ur?" Sado asked.

"Eh, it's not the first time I've been this close or closer with a woman," Ur shrugged, Sado blinking twice, face turning scarlet as Gray stared at her, open-mouthed.

"You mean you're a-" Gray caught himself when Ur glared at him.

"Utter one more word and I'll kill you," Ur growled.

Gray's mouth shut with an audible click and Sado chuckled.

"Seriously, though," Lucy said. "Why am I here? I'm not really that strong!"

"Lucy, do you remember back when I asked you to help me track down Aires?" Sado asked.

"Yeah," Lucy said. "Her key was with some wizard named Angel, right?"

"That's right," Sado nodded. "Well, I had Mira do some digging. Know what she found?"

Lucy shook her head.

"Not a God damned thing," Sado said, everyone but Mira slouching. "Which meant that it had to be a moniker, and also had to be a dark guild."

"Wait, are you saying that you two know how to investigate dark guilds?" Lucy asked.

"Yeah, it's easy," Sado said. "Catch a dark guild member and threaten him with pain until he talks. As it turns out, Angel's famous. She's considered the most powerful of all Celestial Wizards. She's also a member of the Oracion Seis. As a Celestial Wizard yourself, and as the holder of Leo's key, you're coming along to help deal with her."

"But, I thought Master Makarov chose the teams," Lucy said.

"No, he chose me, Natsu, Erza, and Gray," Sado said. "And since he knows us, he knew that I wouldn't be leaving without Mira, Juvia would follow Gray anyway, Natsu wouldn't leave without you and Happy, and Ur demanded he let her come."

Lucy looked at Ur skeptically but she simply smiled and nodded.

"Hey, I see it!" Happy said from the front of the wagon. "The rendezvous point!"

Sado turned to the front and grimaced. A large pink mansion with a golden heart in the lightning rod at the top, a heart-shaped window below it, and a couple other hearts here and there.

"Move over Natsu, it's my turn to throw up," Sado said.

"Oh it's not that bad!" Mira said, everyone laughing.

After a couple of minutes, Sado pushed the doors open, the room inside dark. Then, he lit his hand on fire, walking into the room with the others, Natsu following his lead.

"Great, another creepy old mansion," Lucy said.

"It's the second home of Blue Pegasus's master, Bob," Erza explained.

Then, the lights all began to click on, Sado and Natsu allowing their flames to go out.

"Great, him," Gray said. "He...makes me feel funny."

"Gray, be nice," Erza said. "Master Bob may be a little eccentric, but he deserves our utmost respect."

"What's wrong with Bob?" Sado asked.

"You'll see," Gray said.

"Just tell me when we're there guys," Natsu said, still out of it and sitting on the floor.

"Okay, we're there," Happy said.

"Yes, they're hear at last," a male voice said.

"At last," two more male voices echoed.

"Hey hey hey hey," the first voice said. "Hello!"

"Hello!" the other two echoed.

"Fairy-" the first said.

"Fairy-" the others echoed.

"Tail-"

"Tail-"

"Wizards!" they all said at once, appearing in front of them, a spotlight shining seemingly out of nowhere on them, silhouetting them. "We're so glad you came."

"We're so glad you came," their voices echoed.

"We are..." the middle one said, stepping forward.

"The Blue Pegasus..." the one on the right said, stepping forward.

"Elite crew," the last said, stepping up beside his partners.

"The Trimens," they all said, the lights all going out.

"Hundred Nights Hibiki," the one from the middle said, stepping into a spotlight that was suddenly on.

He wore a clean suit with a baby blue undershirt unbuttoned at the top,a red and white stripe around the bottom of each of his jacket's sleeves, and had messy reddish brown hair, similar to Loke's except longer and straighter.

"Holy Night Eve," the one from the right said, replacing Hibiki.

He wore a suit with a red cross on the back of each jacket sleeve from the cuff to his elbow, a pink undershirt and a maroon tie and had blond hair combed flat into a long bowl cut but with a small tuft struggling to stand up on the top of his head.

"Still Night Ren," the last said, stepping into the light.

He wore a suit with an open jacket, a yellow shirt underneath, his also unbuttoned at the top, and had tan skin that complimented his long chocolate brown hair, which had a small wolf tail at the back. Each of their suits had their guild's crest on their left shoulder in the same color as their undershirt.

"The Trimens from Blue Pegasus!" Lucy gasped, staring and blushing slightly. "Wow, that is so cool! Those guys are, like, the hottest wizards around now! Hibiki Laytis is always near the top of Sorcerer Weekly's Most Eligible Wizard Bachelors list!"

Hibiki blinked in surprise before brushing some hair behind his ear, smiling.

"He's been in the top three for the last few months!" Lucy continued.

Sado huffed, crossing his arms. "He's not that good looking."

Mira giggled, reaching up and kissing him. "I like you much better."

Sado smiled, kissing her before glancing at Gray, who was behind a pole freaking out about meeting the Trimens and about hot guys always getting girls' attention. Beside Gray, Natsu was sitting on the ground, pouting.

"What's with you Natsu?" Lucy asked. "Oh, and put your shirt back on Gray!"

"Nothing," Natsu huffed.

"Are you jealous?" Lucy laughed.

"No!" Natsu said.

"You are!" Lucy laughed. "You're jealous because I called them hot!"

Sado covered his mouth to silence his laughter while beside him, Mira giggled into her hand and Ur bent at the waist, laughing hysterically. Lucy walked over to Natsu, crouching down and cupping his face, pulling him into a kiss.

"Just because I think they're hot doesn't mean you have to be jealous, idiot," Lucy smiled. "You're my boyfriend for a reason."

Natsu pouted for another second before smiling. "Thanks Lucy."

She smiled, kissing him again and stood. Sado glanced back at Gray who had stopped freaking out but had his arms crossed, looking dejected.

"Are you okay?" Juvia asked, stepping up beside him.

"I'm fine," Gray grumbled.

"Oh good," Juvia smiled. "That makes my job much easier. I was worried I'd have to try and think of a way to say that I think you're much hotter than them without making a fool of myself. But if you're okay, then I suppose there's no need."

Gray blinked in surprise before a small smile spread over his face and he reached out, hugging Juvia, who hugged him back. "Thanks Juvia."

"You're welcome," Juvia smiled.

"Don't worry Gray, I still think you're ugly," Sado said.

"Shut it freak!" Gray snapped.

"Okay! you win! I'll leave you alone!" a panicked and clipped voice suddenly said from off to the side.

Sado looked around and his eyes widened. Erza was now seated on a couch with a heart attached to the back with a table holding a bucket of ice and a bottle of champagne, Hibiki on one side and Eve on the other. Ur was on a second couch, an empty glass on the table and her hands working to unbutton a scarlet-faced Ren's shirt, a grin on Ur's.

Ran jumped up, taking several quick steps away from the table as Ur sat back, setting one foot on the table, crossing the other leg over it and winking at Ren as he hurriedly buttoned his shirt.

"Don't mess with the master of mind games," Ur said, grinning.

A laugh emanated from upstairs and they all turned to look, seeing a tiny man with freakishly large head, a ridiculous looking face, messy red hair, and a white suit walking down the stairs.

"Now now men, give these ladies some breathing room," the man said.

"Y-Yes Ichiya, sir," Ren stammered, still blushing profusely.

"Him?" Erza groaned, standing beside Lucy now. "Oh dear."

"It's been far too long, Miss Scarlet," Ichiya said.

"A long time, yes," Erza agreed, seeming to want to add, "but not long enough" to the end of it. "I never expected to see you here."

Sado turned to her, raising an eyebrow when he saw she was shaking.

"Oh how I've missed you, my sweet honey," Ichiya said. "But don't cry, I'm here."

"MY SWEET HONEY!?" Lucy and Happy gaped, Erza frozen up in a mixture of disgust, fear, and embarrassment.

"Whoa, look, she's shaking!" Lucy said.

"A surprise," Ichiya said.

"A surprise!" the Trimens echoed.

"A reunion!" Ichiya said, sliding down the bannister on one foot.

"A reunion!" the Trimens echoed, each pulling the sting on a cardboard cone as Ichiya passed, confetti shooting into the air from the cones.

Ichiya flipped, landing on the square at the base of the bannister with a practiced ease.

"Oh yes, oh yes, oh yes!" all of the Blue Pegasus members chanted.

"We didn't know she was your girlfriend, Mr. Ichiya," the Trimens apologized, turning to Sado and the others and bowing. "Please forgive our rudeness."

"You know that is not true!" Erza spat, pointing at Ichiya.

"You idiots!" Ichiya shouted, dropping to the ground. "We have work to do!"

"Right boss!" they all shouted, running out of the room. "Right boss!"

"Boss huh?" Lucy said. "I think that's like the third thing they've called him."

"They're a bunch of mixed nuts," Happy said.

"It seems that destiny has brought us together," Ichiya said, turning to Erza, squinting his eyes as though he though it would make his misshapen square head look better and pointing to each person as he spoke their names. "Miss Erza, Miss Lucy, Miss Mirajane, Miss Juvia, Miss Ur. The rest of you, not so much."

Sado felt his eye twitch and Mira slipped her hand into his, smiling knowingly.

"Sniff sniff, sniff sniff," Ichiya said, somehow actually inhaling through his nose as he did. "Sweet parfum!"

He pointed at Erza and Lucy both, Lucy shaking in disgust.

"He's creeping me out," Lucy said.

"Yeah, me too," Erza said. "I'd never choose to be in his company. However, he _is_ a gifted wizard."

"Listen up you Blue Pegasus Playboy wannabes," Gray said.

"Big talk from a guy who was just crying in a corner over not being as good looking as them," Sado said.

"Oh like you were much better," Gray said. "At least I got past the denial stage."

"Enough you two," Erza said.

"As I was saying," Gray said. "Anyone who lays a hand on any of these women answers to me. And anyone who lays a hand on Mirajane will find themselves answering to Sado."

"If anyone tries anything on Lucy, I'll roast you alive," Natsu growled.

Sado opted for simply leveling a cold stare at them, that had all four quickly averting their eyes.

"Understood," Ichiya said. "Not take your leave."

"Thanks for dropping by," Hibiki said.

"Thanks for dropping by," the other two echoed, all three bowing.

"We're here on serious business, you know," Gray said. "Can you pretty boys even fight?"

"You want to find out?" Ren asked.

"Yeah, we're _real_ tough, pal," Eve said.

"I'll fight all four of you," Sado volunteered.

"Sado, best behavior," Mira said, Sado sighing.

"Alright," Sado sighed. "I'll fight all four of you without using my magic."

"No fighting!" Mira scolded, grinning all the same.

"Don't forget about me!" Natsu grinned.

"Natsu," Lucy growled.

"Nevermind," Natsu sighed.

"Everybody needs to calm down this instant," Erza said.

"My honey," Ichiya said, seeming to materialize behind her, Erza freezing up and trembling again. "Your sweet parfum, it still drives me crazy."

"You stay far away from me!" Erza shouted, spinning and drilling her fist into the side of his face.

"Man!" Ichiya groaned as he flew.

"Nice right hook," Lucy said, the Trimens watching in shock as Ichiya flew at the door.

"Man!" Ichiya wailed just as a hand caught him, green-tinted ice forming over his head instantly, Gray staring in shock.

"That's not very polite Lyon," Ur said, turning to look back at him with a smile.

"My apologies," Lyon smiled, setting Ichiya down. "I just saw something red flying toward me and assumed it was annoying."

"You assumed correctly," Sado said. "He's been harassing Erza."

"I see," Lyon said, his ice shattering, leaving Ichiya's head intact. "That's not very wise. You're lucky I stepped in. Any longer of that and you would have angered Fairy Tail's men. That's very unwise indeed."

Just then, Sherry stepped into the building to Lyon's left and another wizard entered on his right.

"So you went and joined a guild after all," Natsu grinned.

"Hello again Sherry," Sado greeted. "Is Angelica okay?"

"No thanks to you," Sherry said, glaring at him.

"Angelica?" Mira asked.

"Her pet giant rat," Sado said. "It attacked me so I torched it."

Mira sighed, shaking her head.

"And who is this guy?" Sado asked, looking to the other man.

He was tall, heavily muscled, skin bald, had a poncho with horizontal blue and white stripes and gold stings hanging off the edges, green scaled sleeves starting at his lower bicep, two black leather straps wrapping diagonally around his torso from under the poncho, a dark blue skirt-like cloth, and black sandals. In his hand was a long wooden staff with a blue orb at the top.

"This is Iron Rock Jura," Lyon introduced. "One of the Ten Wizard Saints, and Lamia Scales' most powerful member."

"So Eight from Fairy Tail and four from Blue Pegasus?" Sherry asked. "Funny, our guild only had to send three members. I guess that proves who's strongest."

"Yeah, Fairy Tail," Sado said. "Although I wouldn't exactly be rushing to fight Jura. The reason we sent so many is because we're supposed to be the main combat force in this operation."

"That's not what we had heard," Lyon said.

"Well you're hearing it now," Sado said.

"It seems we only have members from three guilds," Jura said. "The representatives of Cait Shelter have yet to arrive."

"Yes, and about that guild," Ichiya said. "I hear they're only sending one."

"Just one member?" Erza asked.

"That's insane," Gray said. "We're supposed to be up against a powerful group here."

"One?" Lucy asked. "If that's true, how crazy intense is this guy gonna be?"

Just then, a young girl with long blue hair, blue shoes, ankle and arm bands with white wing decorations on them, and a dress with horizontal yellow and blue stripes on it ran in. However, just before she reached them, her foot caught on something and she all but face planted on the carpet.

"Ow," she said quietly, pushing herself up. "Hi. I...uh...I'm sorry I got here so late. I've come from the Cait Shelter guild. My name's Wendy Marvel. It's nice to meet all of you."

Everyone stared at her.

"She's a kid!" Lucy gaped.

"A little girl?" Lyon asked.

"What kind of magic do you use, Wendy?" Sado asked.

"Me?" Wendy asked. "Oh, I'm a Sky Dragon Slayer."

Everyone stared in shock before Jura turned back to the others, barely having showed a reaction the entire time.

"Very well, now that everyone has arrived, we can begin," Jura said.

"What in the world is Cait Shelter thinking?" Lucy asked. "Dragon Slayer or not, she's still a kid."

"Cait Shelter must really be hurting on numbers if they've had to send her here all alone," Sherry said.

"She isn't alone!" a feminine voice shouted from the door, everyone turning and staring, slack-jawed. "You shouldn't jump to conclusions, Gaudy Trollop."

There, standing in the door, was a talking cat with pure white fur, who Sado would be willing to bet his entire life's savings had a pair of wings she could use to fly. She was wearing a white and red dress, unlike Happy who was wearing nothing but his backpack and was staring in awe. Sado grinned. This was quite the team. If nothing else, it would be entertaining to try to work with them.

* * *

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	29. Chapter 29

I do not own any of the original Fairy Tail characters.

* * *

Planning

Sado watched Wendy carefully out of the corner of his eye, also keeping an eye on Natsu, who looked like he was trying to remember something.

"Another Dragon Slayer," Mira said. "Coincidence?"

"Doubt it," Sado said. "I wouldn't be surprised if she joins Fairy Tail by the end of this mission."

Mira nodded. "I was getting the same feeling."

"Can I please kick their asses?" Sado asked, tired of watching the Trimens treat Wendy only slightly better than they did Erza, and quickly slipping the rest of the way into straight out flirting.

"It'll be alright," Mira said, just as Ichiya ordered them to leave her alone.

Then, Ichiya set up a square of flood lights on the floor, standing in the center and striking seemingly random poses as he spoke. "Now that all of the involved parties are here, we may begin discuss the plan. The first step should be to discover the location of the Oracion Seis."

"They're after Nirvana," Sado said, everyone staring at him in shock. "I read about it in a book, and then a dark guild member that I was interrogating about something completely unrelated at the time, mentioned the person I was looking for trying to get to Nirvana. Since the person I'm looking for is in the Oracion Seis, it makes sense."

"What book was this?" Ichiya asked.

"Hell if I remember," Sado shrugged. "I've read a lot of books since I joined Fairy Tail. Anyway, it's supposed to be sealed in the forest to the north of here, right?"

"It is," Ichiya said. "The Worth Woodsea. Did you happen to read what it does?"

"The book wasn't specific," Sado said. "It kept referencing balance, but all I was able to gather was that it was terrifyingly powerful and destructive in nature."

Ichiya nodded. "That's all we know about it as well. Hibiki."

Hibiki snapped his fingers, a gold screen and keyboard appearing beside him, Hibiki typing away at it one-handed before several images appeared in front of them, each in a glowing gold screen-like field.

"That's Archive," Jura said.

"Don't think I've seen it in use before," Lyon said.

"And it does what exactly?" Sherry asked.

"Storing information, like these pictures," Lyon said. "Don't ask how he got 'em."

"First up is the Snake Wizard, Cobra," Hibiki said, indicating an image of a wizard in a white coat with long messy brown hair and a massive purple snake around him.

"Beady eyes and a mischievous smirk," Natsu said. "He looks like trouble to me."

"Talk about the pot calling the kettle black," Gray and Lyon both said.

"Next is a wizard who, judging by his name, likely uses Speed Magic. Meet Racer," Hibiki said, indicating the next picture, a man with brown hair spiked backward, a red shirt with white pants, white gloves, a pair of glasses with a strip of metal running down along his jaw and up to the other side, and a long pointed nose.

"I don't know what it is, but I don't like the looks of this guy," Gray said.

"I don't either," Lyon said.

"Next there's a wizard who's willing to wipe out an entire military unit if the price is right," Hibiki continued, displaying an image of a large plump man with a face that looked like it was a painted chunk of slate, long orange hair running down his back, red pants, a black shit with white on the collar and shoulders, and a necklace made our of large red beads, who was holding what looked like a bible. "Divine Eyes Hoteye."

"The guy kills for money?" Sherry asked.

"Turns my stomach," Jura growled.

"She's gorgeous but just as vicious," Hibiki said, displaying a woman with silver hair cut short around her head and a single length of it kept as a long curl sticking out of the top of her head, a blue cloth headband running through her hair, two locks of it over the band and framing her face, a dress made from white feathers that was open in front down to her navel and exposed a full strip of her considerable cleavage, ended above her knees, and had what looked like a pair of white-feathered wings on her back, along with a pair of dark blue stockings, boots, and gloves.

"Angel," Sado said, Lucy's eyes narrowing at the sight of her selected target.

"That's right," Hibiki nodded, moving on to the next picture. "The next member is such a mystery that all we know is his name, Midnight."

Midnight had loose yellow pants with black stripes over them, red boots, a black vest with white fur on the shoulders and collar, a black leather bracelet with metal spikes coming out of it on his left wrist, and short, messy black hair. He was also asleep, sitting on a decorative cushion.

"That's an odd name," Erza said. "Does it correlate to his power?"

"Finally," Hibiki continued, ignoring Erza. "The commander of Oracion Seis. Brain."

Brain had blue pants, a white belt with a strip of black around the center of it, a large white cape with a pair of black fur sections hanging in front of him, a purple jacket under it that was open and had white fir along the middle edge, white hair combed back, dark skin with black tattoo-like markings over his body, and was holding a wooden staff with a decorative skull at the top, a crystal ball in the skull's mouth.

"Something feels off about him," Sado said. "I volunteer to take on Brain myself."

"I'll help," Mira said.

"Alone these six can wipe out entire guilds," Hibiki said. "Together they're unstoppable."

"We'll see," Sado said.

"Our only advantage is that we have sixteen to their six," Hibiki said. "No one here is as strong as them."

"Do _not_ talk down on Jura," Sado said. "Besides him, Mira and I can easily handle Brain working together. Our guild isn't weak."

"Question," Lucy said. "Can I volunteer to stay behind and not die today?" Lucy asked.

"I don't wanna die either, so may I please go home?" Wendy asked.

"You may not!" Wendy's cat, Carla, shouted. "We have a job to do child!"

"Since they didn't count us, you wanna get out of here and find some trash cans to raid?" Happy asked, stepping up behind Carla.

"Curb your fear my friends," Ichiya said. "There is more to our strategy than Mortal Combat. With your help, perhaps we can find the enemy's stronghold."

"They don't have one," Sado said, everyone again staring at him. "Oracion Seis is a wandering guild. They camp where they want and if they choose a guild hall and the guild refuses, they wipe them out, stay there anyway, and then move on."

"I'm not even going to question how you know that," Hibiki said. "What the boss meant was their temporary hideout here in the Worth Woodsea."

"What's the next part of the plan?" Erza asked.

"Then, we give them a one-way ticket to oblivion!" Ichiya said, Hibiki pulling up an image of a flying metal pegasus. "Courtesy of Christina, the majestic pride of the Blue Pegasus guild."

"I've heard about the magic bomber, but I thought it was just a myth," Sherry said.

"Whoa, is that really necessary?" Lucy asked. "There's only six of 'em!"

"That's the type of enemy we face!" Jura said.

"Sir yes sir!" Lucy jumped, startled by his voice.

"Remember, under no circumstance should you engage the enemy in solo combat," Jura said. "Our best bet is to separate them then devote at least two wizards to each fight."

He turned, staring at Sado with a look that clearly said he didn't trust him. Suddenly, Natsu took off, bursting out through the door and sprinting away, the others sighing knowingly.

"I guess we have to catch up to him," Sado sighed. "

"As usual," Gray sighed.

"Race you all there!" Sado shouted, sweeping Mira onto his back and taking off at a sprint, Mira cheering.

Gray sighed, taking off as well, Juvia just behind him, Lucy and Erza running after them, Erza quickly gaining on the rest, leaving Lucy behind.

* * *

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	30. Chapter 30

I do not own any of the original Fairy Tail characters.

* * *

Humiliation

Sado watched the smoke rising into the air in silence. One moment Christina had been flying perfectly, the next it began to explode and crashed. He looked around, doing a quick headcount. Jura and Ichiya weren't present. Suddenly, six figures stepped out of the smoke, all looking exactly as they had in their pictures.

"The Oracion Seis," Sado growled. "Let me take a wild guess. One of the people at the meeting were actually Gemini?"

"Gemini?" Natsu asked.

"A celestial spirit with the ability to copy the body, abilities, thoughts, and memories of any person," Sado said.

"You're pretty quick on the uptake," Angel grinned.

"So, one of us is..." Lucy trailed off, looking around.

"No," Sado said. "Out of the sixteen of us, there are two missing. Jura and Ichiya. Jura's out of Angel's league, at least for us to not have noticed. Plus she wouldn't have had the chance with Lyon and Sherry there as well. Which means, she took down Ichiya and had Gemini transform into him, learning the plan in its entirety before impersonating him. Ichiya isn't exceptionally strong, so taking him out would have been simple. Jura, on the other hand...I assume you used Ichiya's knowledge to create some potion or toxin that incapacitated Jura while his guard was down?"

"Impressive," Angel nodded. "You're quite good."

"Thank you," Daniel smirked. "I assume we all know exactly why we're here. No point in waiting around. Fourteen on six is pretty even in this case."

"Relatively speaking," Brain smirked. "Racer. Go."

Suddenly, Racer was gone. Sado sighed, kneeling and placing his hands on the ground. A moment later, an explosion went off on his left and Racer crashed to the ground, smoking and groaning.

"Flame landmine," Sado said. "Crude but effective."

"Impressive," Brain nodded. "Destroy them."

Sado's smirk dropped as Racer appeared beside him, grinning wickedly. Then, he was blasting along the ground and the others were all in combat with the remaining five. Sado rolled to his feet, growling irritably and placing his hands together.

"Fire Make Floo-"

"Too slow!" Racer shouted, slamming a foot into the underside of his jaw, blasting him backward into a boulder.

Sado flipped, sprinting at Racer only for Racer to vanish, Sado's feet flying forward before Racer crashed down on his abdomen. Then, Racer flipped as Sado sent a blast of flames at him. Racer landed on his feet beside Sado and punted him, launching him toward the others, Sado crashing into Natsu and Gray, all three of them landing in a pile. Just as he did, Cobra's snake lunged at Erza.

"Fire Make Serpent," Sado said, sending a flaming snake shooting out of his right hand.

It hissed loudly as it shot across the ground before shooting upward, catching the purple snake by the belly and yanking it away from Erza less than a second before it could bite her. Cobra shouted in rage as the flaming snake faded, dropping his own back into the dirt behind him, a bite mark burned into its flesh. Then, Racer appeared beside Erza, slamming several kicks and punches into her before she landed beside Sado, groaning. All around them, the others had all also been taken down. Not a single one of the Oracion Seis had an injury, with the exception of Cobra's snake and Racer's burns, which were barely more than blisters.

"Well, that didn't work out like I had hoped," Sado said.

"Pathetic," Brain spat, glaring at them all in disgust. "Prepare for oblivion's embrace!"

He held out his staff, a massive glowing purple spell circle forming in front of it, dark green energy appearing and spiraling into it. Sado pushed himself up, forming a Fire Make Shield in front of all of them. Brain held his staff above himself, all of the dark energy flowing into the orb in the staff's mouth. Sado grit his teeth as he felt the spell's power increasing rapidly. He couldn't stop it. But hopefully his shield would allow at least one of them to live. Suddenly, an ice shield appeared both outside and inside of his shield and he looked back, seeing Ur kneeling beside him. She had a few bruises and there was some blood coating the right side of her head, but she was still in better shape than pretty much all of them.

"Who did you lose to?" Sado asked.

"Hoteye," Ur grumbled. "I'll get payback next time."

Suddenly, Brain stopped his attack, staring in shock at Wendy, who was hiding behind a boulder behind everyone else, being the only one to have not fought. Sado kept himself ready, hands held together, since trying to use his flames normally when this weak was exhausting to control.

"What's the matter Brain?" Cobra asked. "Are you gonna cast that thing or what?"

"Wendy," Brain breathed, staring at her, eyes wide. "Yes, there's no doubt about it. That's Wendy. The Maiden of the Sky."

Sado blinked, turning to stare back at Wendy before looking back to Brain. "What the hell is he talking about?"

"To think we simply stumbled upon her here," Brain smirked. "We've made quite a find my friends. Grab her!"

He swung his staff, a massive tendril of green magic energy flying out at Wendy. Sado separated his hands, sending out several flaming spears, blasting the magic away, only for Racer to smash both him and Ur into the ground again. Then, the green energy caught Wendy, Happy grabbing on to try and hold her, only to be taken with her as both were dragged into the staff.

"Let her go!" Sado shouted, pushing himself up.

"I have no use for the rest of you," Brain said. "Begone! Dark Rondo!"

Dozens of green blasts of energy were launched out of the staff, flying into the air and then falling at them from above. Sado regretted his shield breaking apart when he was hit by Racer. Everyone scrambled for cover, but there wouldn't be enough.

"Iron Rock Wall!" Jura's voice suddenly shouted, a dozen stone pillars growing out of the ground at angles, forming a wall over them and blocking the blast.

Sado glanced at Jura and sighed, slowly pushing himself up. "Okay. Now it's time to deal with the rest...of...fuck."

Oracion Seis was gone. Sado dropped back onto his rear, groaning as Mira knelt beside him, worried. He smiled reassuringly, slipping his hand into hers as he looked around. Just as he did, Lyon dropped to a knee in front of Juvia, taking a hand.

"Hello my angel," Lyon said, Sado raising an eyebrow. "My name is Lyon. I just had to tell you how beautiful you are, and to ask you if you would do me the honor of being my wife."

Several people were staring in shock, Sherry sobbing hysterically. However, before Juvia, who looked thoroughly confused, could respond, Gray slammed a fist into the side of Lyon's head.

"Hand off!" Gray said before realizing what he was implying. "We have bigger things to worry about than that. We need to find Wendy."

"He's right," Sado sighed, pushing himself up again. "I don't want to know what Brain wants with her. We have to get her back."

The others nodded in agreement.

"Where do we look?" Erza asked, everyone looking around in silence.

"I might have an idea," Sado said. "The Worth Woodsea was once home to an ancient civilization that had a village nearby. There was supposedly a priestess there that could heal their wounded and sick. It's abandoned now, because of Nirvana, I think. If the Oracion Seis was going to hide out anywhere, it'd be there."

"How do you know all of this?" Jura asked, glaring at Sado suspiciously.

"I don't know," Sado said. "I just remember it. I don't know from where, but I remember."

"I don't believe you," Jura said. "There's something you're not saying. If we're going to trust you to be a part of this mission, we have to know you're not hiding anything."

"I'm not," Sado said. "I promise you, I'm telling you everything I know. I have amnesia from an even that happened when I was a child."

"What?" Jura asked.

"My flames went out of control and destroyed my home," Sado said. "I don't remember anything from before that."

Jura stared at him before shaking his head. "I'm sorry. I can't trust you. I demand that you return to your guild. We will handle this battle without you."

"I'll vouch for him," Mira said.

"Me too," Gray nodded.

"And me," Natsu said.

"He's not lying," Ur said.

One by one, the other Fairy Tail wizards agreed. Jura sighed.

"Fine," Jura said. "You may stay, but you are not to go anywhere alone. You will keep both Ur and Mirajane with you at all times. And I will be keeping a very close eye on you. If you try anything, at all, I'll not hesitate to kill you."

Sado nodded and Jura motioned for him to lead.

"Since you're the only one who knows anything about this ancient civilization, you lead," Jura said.

Sado looked around carefully before nodding. "I think it's this way."

The others followed in silence, Mira slipping her hand into his as they walked.

* * *

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	31. Chapter 31

I do not own any of the original Fairy Tail characters.

* * *

Revived

Sado stopped, Jura gripping his staff more tightly, watching Sado suspiciously.

"It looks like the Oracion Seis called in some backup," Sado said. "Naked Mummy, Black Unicorn, Red Hood. Whoever the other guys are."

He looked up where four Dark Guilds were gathered in the trees above them. The others all prepared themselves for a fight as well, only for Sado to hold his hand up.

"I'll give you one chance to tell me what they're planning!" Sado called out. "The one that does gets to walk away before I blast the rest of you."

"Yeah right!" one of the Black Unicorns shouted. "No one's going to talk!"

"Fair enough," Sado shrugged. "Everyone make a circle around me."

Everyone did as instructed except Jura.

"You too, Jura," Sado said.

"Why would I want to get close enough to you to be struck?" Jura asked.

"If you don't, you'll be burned to a crisp," Mira warned. "The attack he's about to use will take them all down, but the only way to avoid joining them is to stand close enough to him to be inside the initial flames."

"Why doesn't he just expand the initial flames, then," Jura asked.

"Look, I get that you don't trust me," Sado said. "But if you don't hurry up and get over here, I'm going to use my attack with or without you being safe."

"So you _are_ willing to harm an ally," Jura growled, gripping his staff with both hands.

"Fuck this," Sado snarled. "Juvia, be ready to put the flames out."

He leapt into the air, spinning and sending flames flying out in every direction, blasting Dark Guild members rapidly. However, because he wasn't blasting them all at once, several spells blasted him in the back almost instantly, blasting him into the ground. He rolled over, extending both arms and sending twin jets of flame shooting into the trees, burning and hurling dark wizards flying. One leapt at him with a sword, only for Natsu to smash them away.

"Jura, just do what he said!" Mira ordered.

"Fine!" Jura snarled.

The others all scrambled to form a circle around Sado as he pushed himself up to his knees, Jura kneeling behind him, the pointed end of his staff pressing into Sado's back, lined up to stab into his heart.

"Get them!" a dark wizard shouted, all of them leaping at him.

"Phoenix Egg!" Sado snarled, flames forming around them all and shooting outward, blasting the Dark Guilds all away from them, putting out the fires from earlier and reducing the trees around them to scorched stumps, most of which broke apart under their own weight.

Finally, the flames ended, Juvia standing and sending jets of water to extinguish the flames on the edges of the blast before the others stood, looking around.

"Understand why we wanted you to just do what we said to begin with?" Mira asked, glaring at Jura, who slowly lowered his staff from Sado's back, allowing him to stand.

"Yes," Jura said. "You're powerful."

"Fuck you," Sado snarled, flames growing on his fists. "You think I didn't notice that you were ready to stab me? You claim we need to trust people, but I can't earn your trust if you don't give me a chance! So you know what? Fuck you! You're on your own! I'll find Wendy and Happy myself! Good luck finding the Oracion Seis without me!"

He turned, jumping and sending flames out of his hands and feet, flying away from all of the others, Mira transforming and following.

* * *

Sado landed beside a river and sighed, Mira landing beside him. She cupped his face and he sighed, forcing his flames to fade and smiling, reaching up to her hand. Just as he did, a bush off to the side rustled. They turned, staring at the deer that had stepped out. Sado smiled slightly.

"At least not everything in this forest is out to kill us," Sado smiled, Mira nodding.

"Are you okay?" Mira asked.

"I'm fine," Sado smiled. "Come on. The village should be this way."

They began to walk, soon reaching the top of a cliff overlooking an abandoned, and long-since collapsed, village with a cave off to one side. Mira flew them both down to it, Sado lighting his hands on fire as they walked inside, staring at Brain as they stepped inside. Kneeling on the ground before him were Happy and Wendy, who was sobbing. And to Brain's left, Racer.

"Wendy?" Sado asked. "What's wrong? What'd he do?"

"It's not what I did," Brain said. "It's what she did. Racer, go and find the others."

Racer vanished instantly. Sado stepped forward, only to freeze as someone else stepped into view from deeper in the cave. Jellal. Wearing only a ripped purple shirt, blue pants, and a pair of black boots.

"Jellal," Sado snarled. "What the hell are you doing here? How are you even alive? That tower should have crushed you!"

"Just thank your little friend there," Brain smiled. "She revived him."

"Wendy?" Sado blinked, staring at her. "What does he mean?"

"I'm sorry!" Wendy sobbed. "I had to do it! I owed him!"

"Owed him?" Sado growled, turning back to Jellal. "Jellal, what are you doing here?"

Jellal stared at him before turning to Brain. Suddenly, Jellal's arm swung upward and an explosion of Heavenly Body Magic went off below Brain, blasting him away. Sado froze. Jellal was at full power, and had no reason to hold back now. He couldn't win alone. But then, why was Jellal attacking Brain?

"What are you doing here Jellal?" Sado demanded again.

Jellal turned, walking silently toward Sado. Sado watched as Jellal walked toward him. He curled his hand into a fist, tensing his muscles.

"Erza," Jellal breathed.

Sado froze, staring at him, Mira hesitating, watching Sado. Something was off. Something in the way Jellal had said Erza's name wasn't quite right. Before Sado knew it, Jellal had walked past them and out of the cave. Brain stood and Sado shook his head, turning back to him.

"You're the biggest threat," Sado growled. "I'll deal with Jellal later."

"I see," Brain sighed. "Then I suppose I'll humor you. Come. Let me see what the two of you are capable of."

* * *

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	32. Chapter 32

I do not own any of the original Fairy Tail characters.

* * *

Midnight

Sado flipped over a beam of green energy, watching it blast a section of the ground into debris. As he landed, Mira flew over him, punching at Brain rapidly, orbs of dark magic energy surrounding her hands. Then, he flipped, kicking her up into the roof of the cave before holding out his staff. Sado slammed his hands into the ground and Brain leapt backward, a massive explosion erupting from where he had been, forcing him to stop his attack but not harming him. He glanced back just as Wendy and Happy escaped the valley the cave was in.

"Let's open this up a little!" Sado snarled, setting his hands on the ground again.

A moment later, Mira landed in front of him just as the ground around them exploded, blasting the entirety of the roof of the cave and the cliff above it away, scattering the debris through the forest in the distance, away from the others. Then, Sado leapt backward, Mira catching him by the hand, flying back to the small island the village was on, setting him down and landing beside him, both watching as Brain, who had somehow once again escaped the blast unscathed, walked toward them, stopping at the edge of the water, a row of stepping stones separating them.

"This is going to be trouble," Sado said. "If you can hit him with a Soul Extinction, feel free."

"I might catch you in the blast," Mira said.

"I trust you," Sado said, placing one fist against the other palm then separating his hands, a bazooka forming. "Fire Make Cannon!"

He fired, the blast of fire magic blasting along the ground at Brain, who dove out of the way, before diverting its own path around Midnight, continuing on the other side. Brain shot forward, slamming a punch into Sado's gut and lifting him off the ground before ducking under a swipe from Mira. The moment his back was turned, Sado flipped, flames flying out of his heel and spinning him, his foot slamming into the side of Brain's head, blasting him away. As he crashed to the ground, Sado stepped forward, swinging both arms forward and sending twin walls of flame at Brain, the walls meeting and exploding, only for Brain to burst through the wall of flames off to the right, shoving his staff forward and launching a barrage of green energy blasts. Mira escaped the blast, but Sado took a direct hit, being blasted backward into the side of the cliff. Brain grinned, landing on the island and swinging his staff, sending out a blast of green energy that tore along the cliff in a trail after Mira, the beam missing her but the explosion throwing her into another cliff.

"Fire Make Cannon!" Sado shouted, Brain turning to find Sado about two feet away.

At the last possible second, Midnight appeared between them, the blast diverting around both, blasting the cliff in the distance away. Then, Brain once again blasted Sado. Sado landed hard before flipping to his feet, flames rocketing off of his hands.

"Son of a bitch!" Sado snarled. "That brat's going to get his next. Fire Make Sword!"

He slammed his hands together, forming a pair of blades before charging, Brain grinning, meeting his charge. Sado slashed at Brain rapidly when they met, Brain sidestepping the first slash, smashing the shaft of his staff into Sado's side, making him stumble away. Then, Sado stabbed at Brain, Brain avoiding it and jumping over another slash, holding out his staff.

"Dark Rondo!" Brain shouted, blasting Sado down into the ground just in time for Mira to appear beside him, hands clasped and dark energy around them.

She swung her arms from her left, smashing them both into Brain's head, blasting him into the cliff before firing a beam of dark energy. The explosion launched him out of the cliff, leaving him to crash down in the water, pulling himself out as Sado charged, a massive fireball in each hand.

"Nice try!" Brain growled, holding out his staff, dark energy spiraling into the crystal ball in it. "Dark Capriccio!"

A beam of green energy with flames spiraling around it shot out just as Sado hurled the fireballs. The beam blasted Sado in the chest, blasting him backward into Mira, then into the cliff, both of them cratering it as the fireballs exploded against brain, blasting him backward into the cliff as well. After a moment, he stood, huffing and walking forward.

"You're powerful," Brain said, glancing down at the nasty burns covering a good portion of his body now. "Time to die."

He stopped in front of them, holding his staff out, dark energy spiraling into it again. Suddenly, Sado rolled to the side, revealing the orb of spiraling dark energy Mira was holding.

"Soul Extinction!" Mira shouted, sending the beam blasting into Brain's chest and launching him into the sky before the blast exploded, filling the sky.

Then, he fell, crashing down in the remains of the cave, groaning but alive.

"He survived," Sado noted, standing and cracking his neck. "He's as stubborn as we are."

He formed his flames into a spear, turning to throw it, only to stop as Brain pushed himself up.

"Midnight...kill them!" Brain growled, dropping into a sitting position against the wall. "Drag them into your nightmare!"

Midnight remained still for a moment before his eyes creaked open.

"Mira, leave," Sado said. "Get Wendy and Happy to the others. They should be fighting Racer by now, maybe finished with him, so be careful."

"We'll fight him together," Mira said.

"No," Sado said. "Get back to the others. Tell them we dealt with Brain for now, and that I'll deal with Midnight. But I need you gone for this."

"Why?" Mira asked.

"I don't remember why, but I remember that Midnight is worse than Brain," Sado said. "I remember to be afraid when he wakes up."

"Then I'm definitely not letting you fight him alone," Mira said.

Sado sighed, shaking his head. "I need you to go and help Lucy with Angel. And besides that, I need you to make sure Wendy doesn't go looking for Jellal."

Mira was silent for a moment before nodding and turning, taking off again. Midnight stared at Sado, expression blank. Then, a sadistic, knowing grin spread over his face. He raised a hand and Sado's hand snapped up, fireballs rapidly shooting out of his palm, only to bend around him, exploding somewhere behind him. He stopped after a moment, dropping and placing both hands on the ground, shouting in effort as the ground suddenly turned to magma, except in a circle around Midnight. Sado yanked his hands upward then shoved back down, sending a wave of magma flying at Midnight, only for it to part around him yet again. Sado growled in annoyance.

"What kid of fucked up magic do you have!?" Sado demanded.

Midnight laughed, swiping his hand and sending out a wave of near-invisible magic energy with a red aura. Before Sado could avoid it, it sped up, hitting him and exploding into a vortex of energy, hurling him into the air before he crashed back to the ground, groaning as he slowly pushed himself back up.

"Yup, that hurt," Sado grumbled, getting to his feet. "Okay, you're not half bad."

"Would you like to know what it is that I wield?" Midnight asked.

"Nope," Sado smirked. "I remembered. You wield reflector magic. You can bend the space around yourself, shielding yourself from any weapons or magical strikes, though not a living being's body, or you can bend the space around an enemy, using their own armor, weapons, or clothes to crush them to death. However, you can only use one at a time."

"Impressive," Midnight smirked. "I was afraid you had forgotten me."

"Now tell me, how do I know you?" Sado asked. "How am I remembering all of this?"

"Man, you really did forget a lot, didn't you?" Midnight asked. "Oh well. Time to die Sado!"

Midnight held his hand out, Sado's clothes warping, coming alive and writhing around him, only for Sado to launch himself forward, flames shooting out of his feet and sending him blasting into Midnight, sending Midnight crashing into the cliff. Midnight groaned, lying on his back as Sado's clothes returned to normal.

"It's over," Sado said. "You've lost Midnight. Your true power is useless to you right now. So for now, I can easily finish this."

Midnight's hand snapped up, another blast of magic energy tearing into Sado, pain screaming through his body as he sailed through the air. Then, as he crashed to the ground, Midnight crashed down on top of him, pinning his hands and beginning to slam his fist into Sado's face again and again.

"You can't stop me!" Midnight shrieked as he pounded his fist into Sado's face again and again. "I am the strongest! I am the greatest member of the Oracion Seis! I survived the Tower of Heaven! You're nothing to me!"

Sado yanked his right hand free, slamming it into Midnight's nose and knocking him off. Then, he flipped, pinning midnight's hands in place as flames erupted out of his elbow, driving his fist into Midnight's face once again, leaving him unconscious. Sado sighed, standing and stepping back, looking back toward the cave, only to find Brain was gone.

"Shit," Sado growled. "Whatever. At least he's done."

He knelt, breaking all four of Midnight's limbs, then turned and began to limp away from him, flying himself out of the valley and walking away.

* * *

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	33. Chapter 33

I do not own any of the original Fairy Tail characters.

* * *

Seventh

Sado grunted in effort as his legs wobbled from exhaustion, pushing himself to keep running. He couldn't believe he had missed so much in such a short time. When he had finished his fight with Midnight, a beam of light had been flying into the air, courtesy of Nirvana. Then, by the time he found one of the others, this one being Eve, Nirvana had shown its true form, a city with a massive six-legged mechanical body to carry it. Of course, the thing itself was a mile tall, so it walked much faster than Sado could run, but he was running on empty after his fight with Midnight.

"Dammit!" Eve shouted. "I can't get ahold of anyone else!"

"I figured," Sado said, slowing to a stop. "Fortunately, you don't need to. My ride's here."

"Your what?" Eve blinked.

Then, Mira landed in front of him, hugging him instantly. "Are you okay?"

"I've been worse," Sado said. "Where're the others?"

"They're already on Nirvana," Mira said. "Erza found Jellal, who was trying to destroy Nirvana, and the others dealt with Cobra, Racer, and Angel."

"What about Hoteye?" Sado asked.

"Apparently, Nirvana turned him good," Mira said.

"Okay," Sado nodded. "Brain's still around somewhere, so we need to get to Nirvana, now."

Mira nodded, flying into the air with him and curving around toward Nirvana. Within a matter of minutes, they had reached the city and flew down to land in a clearing where Natsu, Lucy, Jura, Gray, and Hoteye were heading toward the biggest building in the city, the one in the center where there would probably be a control center.

"There you are!" Natsu called out, the others all stopping.

"You!" Hoteye gasped, stepping back.

"Hoteye," Sado said, landing in front of him, glaring at him. "How is it that you all know me?"

"What do you mean?" Hoteye asked. "Do you really not remember?"

"I remember waking up as a thirteen year old in a burning town, then finding my way to Fairy Tail," Sado said. "How do you all know me?"

"If you've forgotten, I'm going to leave it that way," Hoteye said. "Some things are better left in the past."

"Was I a member of the Oracion Seis?" Sado snarled, flames beginning to grow on his hands. "Midnight knew me by name, and I've been remembering things I shouldn't know, like Midnight's powers, your plans, the location of your base. How do I know these things?"

"It's not my place to say," Hoteye said.

"Then tell me about the seventh member," Sado said.

"He's Brain's alter ego," Hoteye said. "If all six members of the Oracion Seis are defeated, Zero takes over Brain's body. He's far stronger and more dangerous than Brain. He also doesn't need Klodoa to use his spells."

"Klodoa?" Gray asked.

"Brain's staff," Sado said before blinking in surprise. "Another thing I shouldn't know."

"As long as I am conscious, there's still time," Hoteye said. "Destroy Nirvana before we reach Cait Shelter."

"Wait, what?" they all shouted.

"It's the home of the descendants of the Nirvets, the creators of Nirvana. They are the only people capable of sealing Nirvana away." Hoteye looked past the others as he finished speaking, eyes narrowing. "Brain."

They all turned, staring at Brain as he walked into view, still injured but looking ready to fight.

"Let's go again, shall we?" Sado growled, he and Mira stepping forward, only for Hoteye to step in front of them.

"Destroy Nirvana while I'm fighting him," Hoteye said. "I can stall long enough."

"Or, you and Jura could use your Earth Magic and tear this place apart without risking Zero waking up," Sado said.

"Relax," Hoteye said. "I have no intention of him being freed."

"Hoteye, no," Sado said. "You're not fighting him alone. I'll help."

"So will I," Mira said.

"Mira, no," Sado said. "You need to help them destroy Nirvana."

"You're exhausted," Mira said. "For once in your life, stop being so goddamn stubborn and put your hero complex away."

Sado stared at her for a moment before nodding. "Okay. You two handle Brain. I'll help them destroy Nirvana."

Mira nodded and Sado and the others turned, running away from the impending battle. Mira turned back to Brain, shifting into her demon form yet again, wincing. She had transformed far too many times in one day. If the fight lasted much more than a handful of minutes, she might not be able to hold her demoness form without losing control.

"We need to make this quick," Mira said. "If you can keep him busy long enough, I can take him out with one of my stronger spells. I just need to be careful not to get you too."

Hoteye nodded, holding out his hand, a spell circle forming. "Go!"

The ground suddenly came alive, spikes of it reaching into the air then driving themselves down at Brain, only to be blasted apart by his magic. Mira fired several blasts of dark energy at Brain and he avoided them. As he landed, Hoteye swung a tendril of dirt around, smashing it into him and launching him away. Mira met Brain in the air, smashing both fists into the chest, the spheres of energy there blasting him into the ground. She continued past him, landing on the opposite side as Hoteye as Brain stood, growling in annoyance.

"Fine then," Brain snarled. "Dark Rondo!" He fired the barrage of magic blasts at Mira, making her dodge it, then turned to Hoteye. "Dark Capriccio!"

The beam shot out of his staff instantly, blasting through the dozen walls Hoteye had placed in front of himself, barely missing Hoteye as he leapt aside. Just as Hoteye landed, a dozen green blasts of energy fell from above, blasting him backward. He crashed to the ground, Brain walking toward him through the hole his Dark Capriccio had made, just as Mira fired a beam of energy at Brain. Brain ducked under it, allowing the beam to blast a building, the building falling toward Mirajane. She fired another blast, blasting the building into rubble, only to find a wall of rubble falling toward her.

Before it could reach her, Hoteye shoved her aside, his free hand forming a spell circle, the debris turning to dust and blowing away. Then, a Dark Capriccio blasted into Hoteye's abdomen, blasting him into the wall of a building. Hoteye pushed himself up from the debris slowly, holding out a hand and forming a spell circle.

"Die!" Hoteye shouted, spikes shooting out of the ground at Brain from all sides.

Brain leapt over them, avoiding the blast only for Mira to appear under him, another Soul Extinction in her hands. "Oh fuck!"

Then, Mira fired, blasting him into the sky, the explosion once again filling the sky before Brain fell, crashing to the ground. Just as Mira landed, Nirvana shook from an explosion. She looked around, eyes wide.

"What was that?" Mira asked. "We need to find the others and make sure they're okay."

"I'm...sorry," Hoteye said, swaying, Mira staring at him in surprise, then at the blood below him. "I think I...messed up."

He pitched forward, crashing to the ground and exposing the pipe in his back. Mira stare at it, then at the building, where several more pipes were sticking out of the broken wall, a couple also covered in blood.

"Hoteye!" Mira shouted, taking a step forward.

Before she could take another, a fist collided with her gut, blasting her backward into the wall of stone Hoteye had formed earlier. She looked up from the ground as the dust settled, staring at Brain as he cracked his neck, grinning and with dark magic energy running across his body like lightning. In addition, his eyes were glowing red and his skin had turned a pale, almost albino, white.

"Zero," Mira growled, standing, readying herself.

"Mirajane Strauss," Zero grinned, voice a higher pitch than Brain's had been. "Demon Queen of the Fairy Tail Guild. Where's the king? Did he leave you to deal with me alone?"

"He's destroying Nirvana as we speak," Mirajane said.

"Is he now?" Zero grinned. "Well, I think you'll find he's not nearly up to that challenge. Actually, you won't. Because I'm going to kill you here."

Zero held out a hand, a Capriccio firing from each finger, Mira only barely able to escape the blasts. She held her hands out, forming a spell circle in front of each.

"Darkness Stream!" Mira shouted, dozens of black hands of magic energy shooting out of them at Zero.

Zero smirked, his hand glowing green as dozens of green blasts of energy shot out, exploding against the hands, both spells cancelling only for Zero to form a Dark Capriccio, swinging it like a whip and blasting Mira sideways into the wall before blasting her with even more blasts of energy. As the dust settled, Mira fell to the ground, reverting to her human form and struggling to remain conscious as Zero walked toward her. Then, suddenly, a massive wall of ice spikes flew at him from the side, Zero leaping backward, the spikes turning to follow him. He blasted the ice spikes into pieces as Ur and Juvia landed in front of Mira.

"We'll handle things from here, Mira," Ur said. "You go ahead and rest."

Mira passed out almost instantly.

"Can you all hear me?" Hibiki's voice suddenly spoke.

"Leave me and Juvia out of this conversation," Ur said. "We're fighting Zero. We'll handle him. Whatever you need, the others will have to help."

"Okay," Hibiki said.

Then, he was gone from their minds, and Zero grinned.

"Very well," Zero said. "I know their plan, so once I deal with the two of you, I'll go and stop them. They need six people to destroy Nirvana. If I stop ne of them, the plan will fail."

"We won't let you," Ur snarled. "Let's go Juvia! Ice Make Thorns!"

She slammed her hands into the ground, a field of thorned vines made of ice rapidly spreading from her hands, Zero leaping out of the way. Just as he landed, a massive blast of water crashed into him, blasting him into a wall. As he was standing, Ur slammed her hands into the ground, the water freezing and immobilizing Zero.

"Too easy," Ur smirked, forming a cannon. "Say goodbye!"

"Goodbye," Zero grinned.

A moment later, a Dark Capriccio blasted out of the ground behind her, blasting her in the back and hurling her to the side before blasting Ur, launching her into Ur. Zero stood, grinning, and cracked his neck, allowing the blast to fade.

"Dark Rondo!" Zero shouted, the blasts hurling Ur and Juvia away from each other. "The last thing I need is you two combining your powers."

He turned to walk away only for a saber-toothed tiger made of ice to tackle him, biting into his shoulder, making him shout in pain, blasting it. He stood as Ur reached him, a massive ice sword in her hands. He swore, leaping backward and receiving only a relatively shallow gash across his stomach instead.

"Water Slicer!" Juvia shouted.

Zero dove out of the way of the blasts, successfully escaping the arcs of water and standing before a massive pink-tinted ice hammer crashed down on him. Then, it shattered, Zero roaring in rage.

"Enough of this!" Zero shouted. "Just die!"

He began to fire Dark Rondo blasts at them out of both hands, both women struggling to avoid them, Ur grabbing Mira and keeping her out of the way of the blasts as well. However, after several seconds, Zero appeared in front of her, blasting her backward into the ground. He grinned, landing on top of the wall Hoteye had made and forming a sphere of green energy.

"That's one down," Zero grinned, holding the sphere out.

Just as it became a beam of energy, a massive torrent of water shot past, sweeping up both Mira and Ur, saving them before swinging around, blasting Zero into a wall. Then, Juvia and Ur landed on their feet, Ur setting Mira down and placing her hands together, Juvia holding hers above herself, both forming a spell circle.

"Try this!" Juvia shouted.

Rain began to pour down on them instantly, Zero laughing.

"Rain?" Zero grinned. "Is that it?"

"Yes," Ur grinned. "That's it!"

Then, she separated her own hands, massive chunks of ice falling from the sky, the first stabbing into Zero's thigh before he dove out of the way of more, the ice spikes following him in a trail. He sent a Dark Rondo into the air, clearing it briefly before sending a blast at Ur and Juvia. Juvia formed a massive wal of water in front of them, Ur freezing it instantly, the blast failing to get through.

"Damn you both!" Zero snarled.

He punched the ice wall, shattering it as the rain ended. The ice wall fell away and Zero grinned, only for it to drop away instantly as Ur aimed her cannon at him.

"Ice Make Cannon!" Ur shouted, the blast sending him through several buildings before Juvia used her water to send both into the air over him, Ur blasting him a second time, sending him blasting down deeper into Nirvana.

A moment later, the sounds of explosions began to echo out of the hole. Ur could see fire shooting across the bottom of the hole and dropped through, leaving Juvia to take care of Mira. She caught herself with ice a couple levels down, forming a slide and sliding to the bottom, arriving just as Jellal, who was lying on the ground, bruised and beaten, hurled a glowing gold fireball to Natsu, who ate it instantly. Then, he was off. Zero moved to fight hi, but not only was Natsu now stronger than Zero had been before, but Zero was still tired and wounded from his fight with Ur and Juvia. In a matter of moments, Natsu had won, Zero lying on the ground in a smoking heap. Natsu sighed then turned to the Lacrima.

"I'm not sure how long I have left," Natsu said. "Jellal, do you know?"

"About thirty seconds," Jellal said, pushing himself up on the wall.

Natsu nodded, preparing himself. Then, he was off, flames flying from his body as he shot forward, crashing headlong into the lacrima in the center of the room, shattering it.

* * *

Sado watched as his blast exploded against the lacrima, blasting it into pieces. Then, he fell to his knees as the pieces exploded, blowing out the wall into the open air. He was exhausted, but it was over. He looked up, praying Mira was okay. Then, Juvia suddenly arrived on a massive wave of water, scooping him up and moving him back to the top of Nirvana, setting him beside Mira, who was unconscious.

"What happened?" Sado asked.

"Zero," Juvia said. "She's okay. And Natsu and Ur defeated Zero. Nirvana has shut down as well. It's finally over."

Sado sighed in relief and nodded, picking up Mira and holding her in his lap, setting her head against the side of his neck and hugging her, resting his own head on top of hers. Finally, he could rest.

* * *

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	34. Chapter 34

I do not own any of the original Fairy Tail characters.

* * *

Under Arrest

Sado sat down heavily against the nearest tree he could find, holding Mira in his lap. She still hadn't woken up, but Wendy had healed her wounds. He sighed, setting his head back against the tree, ignoring the others as they congratulated each other for their help destroying Nirvana and taking down the Oracion Seis. Sado felt bad for Hoteye. He changed sides and fought to help them, only to be stabbed in the back by a broken piece of building mid-fight.

Suddenly, the sound of marching feet reached his ears and he opened his eyes, looking down the road they were on in time to see the personal army of the Magic Council walking toward them, a prisoner transport in the center. He gently set Mira down, standing and walking to the others, all of them turning to the newcomers, Jellal staying at the back of the group. Suddenly, a barrier appeared in a box around them, Sado growling in annoyance. They were definitely not here to talk. One of the members of the Magic Council's private army stepped forward, wearing a pair of white pants, blue jacket, a white cape, and black hair tied up at the back of his head.

"Don't worry, we mean you no harm," the man said. "I'm sorry about this, but we had to do something to restrain you."

"Who are you hear for?" Sado asked, all eyes turning to him.

"You know him?" Wendy asked.

"He's the captain of the new Magic Council's fourth Custody Enforcement Unit," Sado said. "His name's Lahar."

"Custody Enforcement Unit?" Lucy asked.

"Basically, it's the Magic Council's military and police force," Sado said. "Master Makarov told me about them."

"There's a new Magic Council?" Gray blinked.

"They have their own army?" Lucy gaped.

"It is my duty to uphold the law and preserve justice throughout the land," Lahar said. "So all evildoers must be put into custody."

"We're not evildoers," Carla said.

"I don't really understand why we're in trouble when we didn't even do anything wrong," Happy said.

"At least, not that we know of," Natsu said.

"I don't think that's going to sell them on our case, Natsu," Lucy said.

"We're not here for you," Lahar said. "We've been ordered to take the Oracion Seis into custody."

"Good luck," Sado said. "Any of them who weren't on Nirvana have probably escaped. And if they _were_ on Nirvana, a.k.a. Brain, they're dead now."

Lahar looked to the rubble Nirvana had collapsed into and nodded. "True. However, that's not really important. We will still be able to capture our true objective. A fiend who infiltrated the Magic Council, and fired the Etherion Cannon. A man more villainous than the Oracion Seis. I'm referring to you, Jellal."

Sado stepped to the side, in front of Jellal.

"Leave him alone!" Wendy shouted.

"You're insane man!" Natsu shouted.

"Jellal Fernandes is a criminal, and must be brought to justice," Lahar said, holding his hand out to the side, all of the soldiers readying their staves. "Know that if you resist, we have explicit orders to kill you."

"Jellal's lost his memory," Sado said.

"Ignorance of a crime does not negate the crime itself," Lahar said as Jellal stepped out through the barrier, allowing them to place restraints on his wrists. "Jellal Fernandes, you are hereby under arrest for crimes against the kingdom."

"You may remove the barrier now," Lahar said.

"Please wait!" Wendy pleaded.

"It's alright," Jellal said. "I will not resist arrest. I wish that I could remember you. I'm sorry that I cannot. Truly."

"When she was lost and alone, you found her wandering and saved her life," Carla said.

"Did I?" Jellal asked. "I may never know the pain and suffering I caused countless others, but at least I know that at some point, I helped one person. Erza..." He turned to her, but she couldn't bring herself to look at him. "I won't forget your kindness."

With that, the soldiers began to lead him away, Sado gritting his teeth, resisting the urge to stop them. Wendy began to cry as Jellal passed Lahar, Lahar predicting a life sentence. Sado looked to Erza. He could see it in her eyes. She was about to stop them. She couldn't let Jellal go.

"Hold it right there!" Natsu seethed, shoving a pair of soldiers out of the way, more instantly forming up to stop him, all grabbing him to try to restrain him.

"Natsu!" Gray shouted.

"I don't think that's a good idea!" Lucy said.

"He's one of us!" Natsu shouted, fighting forward slowly, Jellal staring at him in shock. "And that means he comes with us!"

Sado swallowed hard. Then, Gray was beside Natsu, blocking soldiers from catching him from behind.

"Keep going!" Gray said, punching a soldier. "Give up! There's no way you guys can stop him!" He dropped another soldier, throwing him into two more. "This is wrong anyway! Jellal just took down Nirvana! He just saved a whole lot of people, and this is the thanks you give him?"

"You would punish this man for his sins, and yet still not reward him for his good deeds?" Jura snarled, beginning to charge up Magic Energy.

"It pains me, but if you take him away, it would hurt Erza more!" Ichiya said, still with his muscles freakishly inflated as he began to help them fight the soldiers.

Lucy began to help, closing her eyes as she began to punch soldiers, Happy punching them from her shoulder. "Hey, I can't see who I'm hitting, so I'm innocent, right?"

"Me too!" Happy said, eyes wide open.

"No please!" Wendy shouted, a single soldier holding her back by the arm. "Please don't take Jellal away forever!"

"C'mon, let him go!" Natsu shouted. "Listen, you owe Erza big time! She needs you to stay by her side! She did it for you man! You gotta stay! Cause like it or not, you're one of us now!"

"Arrest them all!" Lahar shouted. "For aiding a fugitive and obstructing the law!"

Everyone who had been fighting suddenly found themselves being swarmed. Finally, Sado had seen enough.

"That's enough!" Sado roared, voice dropping drastically as flames exploded into the air, everyone freezing, staring at him, the flames on his hands shrinking back down. "Everyone bearing the crest of a Magic Guild get the hell over here! Now!"

Those who had been fighting all slumped forward in defeat, walking back to Sado as those who had remained out of the fight joined them. Only Natsu remained standing tall.

"What's the plan?" Natsu grinned. "Special attack?"

Sado slammed his fist into Natsu's diaphragm, dropping him to the floor, struggling and gasping for breath, clutching at his abdomen. "It's finished, Lahar. Take Jellal away. With your permission, we'll punish the others in-house. It's less paperwork for you, plus it'll be more effective since there are no laws restricting what punishments we can give. Sound good to you, Erza?"

All eyes turned to Erza, who stood motionless for a moment before nodding.

Lahar sighed. "Very well. I will overlook your transgression this time. Do _not_ let it happen again."

"It won't," Sado said.

The soldiers escorting Jellal turned, walking him to the transport before he stopped, turning back and staring at Erza, realization on his face.

"I remember," Jellal smiled. "It was the color of your hair."

Erza's eyes widened and Jellal was loaded onto the transport, looking back at her one last time.

"Goodbye, old friend," Jellal said.

Then, the soldiers shut the doors and the army turned, leaving. Natsu pushed himself off of the ground, grabbing Sado by the collar.

"What the hell!?" Natsu demanded. "You can't just let him be taken!"

"If I hadn't stepped in, you'd have all been taken!" Sado snapped, pulling Natsu's hands off, squeezing them painfully before shoving them away. "Would that have made Erza feel any better!?"

Natsu stopped, staring at him, then past him at Erza. "No."

"For the time being, Jellal will have to make it without us," Sado said. "There's a chance, however slim, that the Magic Council can be persuaded to forgive his crimes in light of his help stopping Nirvana, and because he doesn't remember. For now, there's nothing we can do without making all of Fairy Tail into criminals."

Natsu nodded slowly and Sado turned, walking back to Mira, kneeling to check on her before sitting against the tree again, lifting her into his lap. The others all spread out, sitting down to wait for the group that had been separated from them, Lyon, Sherry, and the Trimens. Sado rested his head on Mira's and was out like a light.

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	35. Chapter 35

I do not own any of the original Fairy Tail characters.

* * *

Celebration

It was done. Wendy was a part of Fairy Tail, though not for the reasons Sado had guessed. Instead of voluntarily leaving Cait Shelter, the guild master of Cait Shelter had revealed that he and all of his fellow guild members, excluding Wendy and Carla, were all apparitions, illusions with their own personalities, all created by the guild master's magic. The Guild Master himself was a ghost, the last of the Nirvets, kept alive as punishment for his sins of using Nirvana to to rid the world of darkness, instead merely transferring it to the Nirvets, causing them to slaughter each other. However, since Nirvana was gone, he, too, was able to move on, leaving Wendy alone and guildless, until Erza comforted her and brought her to Fairy Tail.

It had gone about as expected. Joy at a new member, excitement at another dragon slayer, and then drunken celebration and brawling because it's Fairy Tail. Sado laughed as he watched Gray brawling with Natsu while Juvia cheered Gray on and Lucy watched from the sidelines. He leaned back against the bar, glancing to the side at Wendy, who was watching with something between an amused and scared look on her face.

"Don't worry," Sado smiled. "They stay away from the bar for the most part because Cana will kill them if they spill her drink. Plus, you're a child, so they'll stay away from you."

Wendy smiled and nodded as Mira set a glass of water beside her then began to comb her fingers through Sado's hair, Sado tilting his head back and groaning, Wendy and Mira laughing. Sado smiled, letting himself get lost in the ungodly amazing feeling, until he heard the telltale whistling of a chair flying toward him. His hand snapped up and he caught the chair, the chair stopping instantly, Mira not even flinching, despite the fact that it had been heading for her. He dropped the chair beside himself, Mira kissing him lightly on the forehead before letting him lift his head, glaring at Natsu, who was smirking at him.

"Natsu," Sado said. "Who threw this chair at me?"

"I dunno," Natsu shrugged, grinning. "Probably no one."

"I see," Sado sighed, pushing himself into a standing position. "Have it your way."

The center aisle cleared instantly, forming a path between the two, Lucy rolling her eyes as Sado cracked his knuckles.

"Jeez, haven't seen how _this_ fight plays out a million times," Lucy sighed.

"Let's go!" Natsu shouted, charging.

Sado charged as well, seeing people forming piles of cash. He grinned. So there were still people dumb enough to bet on him, huh? He dropped into a slide as Natsu leapt at him, shoving Natsu's foot upward and making him face plant into the floor. He stood, growling in annoyance just as a fire whip wrapped around his leg, yanking it out from under him. As soon as he hit the ground, Sado turned, yanking the whip and swinging Natsu over himself, slamming him back down a moment later. Natsu leapt up, growling in annoyance and leapt at Sado again. He threw several punches, Sado ducking out of the way of them all, grinning. It was amazing how much he had changed. Now, he didn't get psyched out by fighting Natsu.

Natsu jumped, flames encasing his foot as he swung it around at Sado, only for Sado to duck, pulling his fist back and grinning. Then, flames exploded out of his elbow, driving his fist into Natsu's gut and launching him into the roof, then back to the floor where Sado caught him and dropped him onto a seat beside Lucy. He grinned. Finally beat Natsu without losing control. To bad it wasn't real.

Cheers echoed all around the Guild Hall as those who had bet on Sado won, and those who hadn't started sobbing. Sado grinned, bowing to the crowd before sitting across from Lucy, pulling out a hundred thousand jewel and setting it in front of Lucy, who took it and nudged Natsu, the Fire Dragon Slayer sitting up instantly and rolling his eyes.

"What was the point of that?" Natsu asked.

"I wanted to beat you up without losing control or you hitting back," Sado grinned. "Anyway, Lucy, can I talk to Leo for a second?"

Lucy smiled and nodded, summoning the spirit, who grinned upon seeing Sado.

"Well well, look who it is," Leo smiled.

"Hello again Leo," Sado smiled.

"You have my thanks, as much as Lucy," Leo said. "You may not have been involved in the fight against Angel, but it _was_ your idea to send Lucy after her. Lucy's care for her spirits is what allowed Angel's spirits to leave her for Lucy, including Aries."

"How is she?" Sado asked.

"She's still a little banged up from the fight, but she'll pull through," Leo smiled.

"So, are you two together yet?" Sado asked.

Leo's face fell and he sighed. "No. She's always been like a sister to me. I...I don't know if..."

"You're afraid of her rejecting you and losing her altogether, right?" Sado smirked. "That's fair. If you want, I'm sure Lucy could get the two of you together. Or, I could have Mira talk to her. Mira got Lucy and Natsu together."

"Alright," Leo nodded. "Sure. Just...be careful, ok?"

Sado smiled and nodded and Lucy closed Leo's gate, looking to Sado. "What?"

"Why are you always trying to get everyone together?" Lucy asked. "You're as bad as Mira."

"Oh please," Sado snorted. "You know you want them together too. If he's with her, he'll stop flirting with you."

"Good point," Lucy said. "I'm going to head outside where I can summon her away from all of the single males. Send Mira to help."

Sado nodded and walked back to the bar, kissing Mira. "Lucy's going to try and get Loke and Aries together. She asked for your help."

Mira squealed excitedly and ran off, following Lucy out of the guild hall.

"She really likes helping people with relationships, doesn't she?" Wendy asked.

"It's one of her and Sado's main pass-times behind making out, losing a fight against Natsu, and doing jobs," Cana snorted. "They actually got Lucy and Natsu together, Gray and Juvia together, and have been trying to find someone to date Ur."

"What's the problem?" Wendy asked.

"Aside from being stubborn, we're not sure which way she swings," Sado said quietly. "I was certain she was straight, especially given she has a daughter, but then she said something that made me question it on the way to the guild alliance meeting."

Wendy nodded, looking uncomfortable with the conversation.

Sado laughed. "I'm sure Mira will be working on finding you a boyfriend within a couple of weeks."

Wendy blushed dark red.

"I'll try and fend her off," Sado smiled. "Hey Cana, you want a boyfriend?"

"Hell yeah!" Cana grinned. "But they better be able to handle their liquor."

"To your standard, or to a human's standard?" Sado asked, Cana glaring at him. "It's important. Also, are you a virgin?"

Wendy shouted in surprise as Cana leapt over her, shrieking like a banshee and grabbing Sado by the throat, slamming him into the ground repeatedly. Finally she stopped and Sado groaned.

"Just need to know what type of guy you're looking for," Sado wheezed.

Cana huffed, kicking him in the thigh and giving him a dead leg before returning to her seat, Sado gingerly climbing back up into his, ignoring the confused stares of the entire guild hall.

"Are you okay?" Wendy asked.

"Only because Cana doesn't want Mira mad at her," Sado said.

Cana huffed and returned to drinking, Sado setting his head down and sighing. After a few minutes, Mira returned, Sado smiling up at her.

"How'd it go?" Sado asked.

"I think it worked," Mira smiled.

Sado nodded as his stomach rumbled. Mira giggled and began to make him a sandwich. Once he ate, the rest of the night went about like he would expect. He stayed with Mira the entire day, there were several more brawls, and everyone but him and Mira got drunk. Then, once night came, he and Mira walked back to her and Elfman's house, Mira unlocking the door and letting him in. She locked it behind them and they walked to her bedroom where she again locked the door, Sado watching her walk into the room and drop her dress at the foot of the bed, exposing her bare back and ass to him before smiling seductively back at him and turning, sitting on the bed, exposing everything else. Sado took a long moment to inhale before grinning widely. A moment later, his clothes were on the floor as well, and he had joined her.

* * *

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	36. Chapter 36

I do not own any of the original Fairy Tail characters.

* * *

Race

Sado cracked his back again, twisting and feeling even more vertebrae pop. Then the other way with a similar result.

"You look like you slept like shit," Gray snorted.

"I haven't slept," Sado said.

"Really?" Gray asked. "Why?"

Just then, Mira gingerly sat down beside Sado, wincing before leaning on his shoulder.

"Oh I get it," Gray grinned wickedly. "You sure she's going to be able to run in the race today?"

Sado's eyes widened and Mira groaned miserably.

"Fuck it, emergency stash," Sado said, reaching under a floorboard and pulling out a small pink orb, holding it out to Mira. "Eat. Don't puke."

"How do you still have those?" Gray asked.

"I save one every time Porlyusica gives me some," Sado said. "Which means I have three, including this one."

Mira put it in her mouth, biting it and swallowing it, holding a hand over her mouth to keep it down. Then, she sighed, lowering her hand and slipping it into Sado's. After a moment, Makarov stepped out, announcing it was time to head out to the starting line. A few minutes later, the entirety of the guild was gathered at a large blow-up arch announcing it was the starting line for the Twenty Four Hour Road Race. Sado stood beside Mira, the two hand-in-hand.

"So cool!" the announcer shouted. "Good morning and welcome to today's event! Fairy Tail's mandatory for all members Twenty Four Hour Endurance Road Race has arrived and we're bringing you every heart-pounding second! I'm everyone's favorite Sorcerer Weekly reporter Jason and I'll be your guide to all of today's sweet action! it's filling up fast so you'd better hurry if you want to witness the coolest race in Fairy Tail history!"

Sado rolled his eyes, sighing and resting his head on Mira's shoulder. "I'm going to break Jet's ankle this year. I'm tired of him winning."

Mira smiled, squeezing his hand lightly. "Now now. No playing dirty."

"This entire race is dirty," Sado laughed. "We're encouraged to mess each other up."

"Everyone quiet down!" Makarov called out, everyone falling silent. "Fairy Tail wizards know, without the proper balance between intelligence and physical endurance we are doomed to failure. During the next twenty four hours, you'll be pitting those virtues against each other."

"A real man never uses his brain," Elfman said, Sado snorting in amusement and Mira giggling.

"Yeah, physical strength is all that matters in a race like this," Gray agreed.

"The rules are very simple," Makarov continued. "From the starting line each of you will make your way along a predetermined course ending at Mount Imor. The ground there has been peppered with heavy wyvern scales. You each need to grab one and bring it back. Once you accomplish that, you'll have completed the race and proven yourself a rightful member of Fairy Tail. Never forget, forfeiting is not an option for any of you. Fairy Tail wizards pride themselves on their ability to go that extra mile. I've decided to add a new restriction this year. After numerous complaints, I've decided the use of flying magic is now forbidden."

Sado grinned at Mira who shrugged.

"I'm still a faster runner than you," Mira said.

"We'll see about that," Sado grinned.

"All other forms of magic are still permitted," Makarov said. "And whoever's unfortunate enough to come in last, will face the most horrific punishment game I've ever devised."

Sado raised an eyebrow. That would have to be truly terrible. Makarov was a sadist.

"I'll see you when you get done, okay?" Mira smiled.

"What makes you think you'll finish first?" Sado grinned. "I told you I'm winning this year."

"That sounds like a bet to me," Makarov said, suddenly floating behind them, Sado swallowing hard. "Good. Then in that case, whichever of you wins gets to give the other a punishment game of your own."

Sado swallowed hard as a wicked, sadistic grin spread over Mira's face.

"Ready..." makarov grinned, raising his hand. "Go!"

There was an explosion of dust as Jet took off, shooting away from the starting line in a blur. Sado and Mira walked to the starting line as the group around them thinned, neither caring since they would easily catch up. Mira transformed, folding her wings against her back and sliding one foot back, crouching as Sado did the same, crossing his arms over his chest. Then, as the last of the runners took off, Mira and Sado did as well. Sado, like Natsu, shot flames out of his fists to give himself a boost, launching himself down the road, alongside Mira. They passed several groups of runners, then a pair of pits, one with three runners, and one with Reedus. Then, they reached a field of ice, both skating across it then continuing to run on the far side. They shot past more and more runners until they blew past Natsu. Only Jet was ahead of them.

Sado grit his teeth, shaking his head once and forcing the aching throb in his arms out of his mind. It had already been over an hour. He let the flames fade from his hands as more began to shoot out of his shoulder blades. Still they ran. They reached a forest as the sun reached high into the sky. A half hour later, they passed a river, the only one along the route. Finally, as the sun was nearing the horizon, the forest gave way to the rocky area around the mountain. Sado switched his flames to along his spine and the back of his head. Finally, they reached the scales, both skidding to a stop and grabbing them, turning and heading back the other way, passing Natsu halfway back to the trees as the sun was reaching halfway behind the horizon.

They began back through the forest again as the sun disappeared. Both pushed themselves faster, streaking rapidly through the trees. As the sky began to lighten, they reached the final stretch, both pushing themselves harder. Sado could hear the announcer shouted. He glanced at Mira, seeing her grin wickedly at him. Then, the flames coming from his back went out, Sado tripping and crashing to the ground. Mira stopped beside him, kneeling down and smiling.

"Close," Mira said.

Sado grunted, panting for breath as he struggled to push himself up. Mira helped him up to his feet and began to jog backward ahead of him as he jogged after her, fatigue rapidly catching up to him. She turned and Sado looked past her, seeing Makarov's evil grin. His eyes widened.

"Oh hell no!" he shouted, flames exploding out of his entire back, launching him forward past Mira.

He grinned just as Mira began to slowly pass him. He leaned forward slightly, feet barely keeping up as he shot along the road, shouting in pain as his nerve endings screamed from him overworking his magic. Mira again began to pul ahead. he pushed himself faster. Then, just as he neared the end, his foot caught on a raised, loose tile and he crashed to the ground, bouncing once as Mira pulled ahead of him and crossed the finish line. Then, he crossed it in midair and crashed down beside Mira. She dropped instantly, helping him up as he groaned.

"That hurt," Sado grumbled. "Dammit. I was so sure I could win."

Mira smiled, kissing him before they walked over to wait with Makarov. Several hours later, Jet, Erza, Gray, Natsu, and Gajeel all arrived, fighting for third, only for Natsu to trip on the same tile Sado did, tackling all four of the others to the ground, allowing Happy to pass them. They pushed themselves up, staring at the cat that had just beaten them before Wendy and Carla both passed them as well.

"You might want to get moving guys!" Sado called out, leaning on the pole he had been given bearing a flag with the number two on it.

All five shouted in surprise and fear as the rest of the guild began to stampede over them, Erza managing to get across the finish line in the confusion. Then, Gray, Gajeel, and Natsu grabbed onto Jet as Jet ran across the line, all four losing. Sado sighed, walking over to them as they all groaned.

"You guys ready for your punishment?" Sado grinned.

"Are you?" Gray asked. "Mira beat you, right?"

Sado's eyes widened as he remembered the bet again, turning to see Mira grinning wickedly, stalking toward him. he began to back away slowly. "Mira, wait! Let's talk about this Mira! No. No! NO!"

She tackled him, slamming a smoke bomb into the ground to hide them from the public's view. A moment later, she stepped back out of the smoke and smiled proudly, dusting her hands off, Sado's clothes over her shoulder.

"Please tell me you didn't," Gray said.

Mira grinned wickedly as the smoke cleared, leaving Sado sitting down cross-legged, arms crossed over his chest, pouting.

"Worst. Game. Ever." Sado huffed as Mira cleared her throat.

Then, he stood, turning so that the crowd could see his red bikini. His face matched the bikini and he glared at Mira. "Seriously Mira, I do _not_ have a big enough chest for this bikini!"

Everyone burst out laughing instantly, Sado turning his glare to Gray.

"You're next," Sado said.

"Oh no I'm not," Gray laughed. "That's _your_ punishment."

Sado grinned wickedly as Makarov stepped forward.

"This is my punishment," he said, holding up a copy of Sorcerer Weekly. "A full twenty page spread of nothing but glamour shots and a full close-up interview with each of you."

All four turned to run instantly, Sado catching all four with a flame whip instantly.

"If I have to wear a bikini in public for a day, you're doing the magazine!" Sado said, flicking the whip and dropping the four in front of Jason.

All four shouted in dismay as Erza caught their collars, following Jason away from the crowd to get their outfits ready.

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	37. Chapter 37

I do not own any of the original Fairy Tail characters.

* * *

Confusion

Sado sighed, watching the rain pouring down outside. He was waiting patiently for Mira and Elfman, both of whom were getting their raincoats before they all went to visit Lisanna's grave. Sado still felt like he didn't deserve to go and pay his respects. It was entirely his fault that she was dead, after all. Mira finally stepped up beside him, taking his hand and smiling, looking over at Elfman, who was yelling at Jet and Droy for failing to protect Levy.

"Come on Elfman, we should get going," Mira called out, Elfman grunting and walking over to them.

Then, they left, Mira pulling her hood up and Elfman turning up his collar and ducking his head against the rain. Sado simply let the rain soak him, feeling his guilt grow with each raindrop. As they neared the cathedral, he looked up, stopping when he saw the clouds spiraling around a single point.

"Shit, I think there's going to be a tornado," Sado said.

Mira and Elfman both looked up before nodding.

"We'll deal with it like we always do," Mira smiled. "Come on. Let's get out of this rain before your magic gets permanently weakened."

"Yeah, what a shame that would be," Sado said, rolling his eyes but following her and Elfman to the cemetery at the back of the cathedral.

They stopped in front of Lisanna's grave and Sado looked up again. This time, however, he froze, staring at the circle of light hovering above Magnolia. He looked to Mira and Elfman, who were too distracted with talking to Lisanna to notice. Just as he opened his mouth, a bolt of lightning shot down from the sky, striking the grave. Sado's vision flared white and he felt his stomach lurch and roll violently.

Then, his vision went black and he fell to his knees, vomiting. He felt grass beneath him, but ignored it as he heaved again. Finally, his vision began to come swimming back to him, sharpening and allowing him to look around. He was in a forest, kneeling in the grass of a small clearing. He pushed himself up, looking around, then up at the sky, seeing the light fading, the rain still falling. He blinked. Where was he?

He heard shouting from off to his right and turned, walking in that direction. As he grew closer, he was able to make out one of the voices.

"I'm not suspicious, I'm a member of Fairy Tail too!" a hauntingly familiar voice said. "Don't be so rough with me cat! Wait, are you an Exeed?"

Sado froze. He knew that voice. But that couldn't be right.

"If you got a problem with my cat, you'll have to take it up with me Lady!" Gajeel's voice snapped. "Well!?"

Sado began to hurry forward, shoving his way through the bushes and trees, stumbling a couple of times before finally breaking free and stopping. Before him, everyone was staring in shock at a girl kneeling on the ground. She was Natsu's age, with white-silver hair matching Mira's but kept just above shoulder length, a white and blue dress with white underneath and a blue skirt-like outer layer, a slit up the left side to expose the white Fairy Tail crest on her upper thigh, white elbow-length gloves, a pink belt around her waist, and blue sandals.

Sado stared at her, mouth hanging open as she stared back at him. She smiled instantly before it faltered and fell away, her eyes wide with surprise, before guilt blossomed on her face and she stood.

"Sado," Lisanna said. "I-"

She stopped as Sado hugged her, eyes still wide in shock before he began to cry.

"I thought I got you killed," Sado said. "I...If I hadn't lost control-"

"It wasn't your fault," Lisanna smiled. "And besides, I didn't die. I was sent to Edolas."

"Where?" Sado blinked, pulling back and staring at her in confusion.

"It's a parallel world," Lisanna said. "Their version of Lisanna died, and I switched places with her because of Anima."

"The light in the sky?" Sado asked.

"That's right," Lisanna nodded. "I didn't know how to get back, but even if I could have, I couldn't just leave that Mira and Elfman behind, because they would have been sad."

Sado nodded, smiling in understanding and wiping the tears and rain from his eyes, noticing for the first time that her hands were bound. He formed a flame dagger, cutting her free and Lisanna smiled widely.

"You've improved," Lisanna smiled, earning a grin.

"A lot's changed since you left," Sado smiled. "So, how exactly did I get here?" Sado asked. "A minute ago, I was at the cathedral with..."

His eyes widened before he grabbed Lisanna's hand, sprinting back toward magnolia and the cathedral.

"Where are we going?" Lisanna asked.

"To see your family," Sado said.

Lisanna stopped, pulling her hand away and Sado turned, staring at her. "I...I don't know if I can face them. I...I've been gone for so long."

"That's why you have to see them," Sado said. "You have to show them that you're alive."

"What should I say?" Lisanna asked.

"Anything," Sado said. "Come on! We need to go before Mira starts looking for me and we can't find her."

Lisanna's face contorted in confusion before understanding flooded it and she grinned widely. "You're still together! I was terrified that thinking I was dead would drive you apart."

"No," Sado smiled. "There were complications later, but not because of you. Now come on!"

He grabbed her hand again, turning and beginning to sprint again, Lisanna following willingly this time. Finally, they stopped as they reached the cathedral just as Mira and Elfman stepped around the corner, both stopping and staring at Sado and Lisanna. Mira's eyes shifted to Sado and he nodded, pushing Lisanna forward. Lisanna ran toward her siblings, who both stood frozen, tears flooding from their eyes. Then, just as Lisanna met Mira with a flying hug, Mira and Elfman both wrapped their arms around her as well. Sado walked over, smiling, only for Mira to grab his arm, pulling him into the hug as well. Sado wrapped his arms around Mira and Lisanna, Elfman's much larger arm reaching around him as well. They all stood there for a long time, Sado beginning to cry again as well as the others. Then, finally, they all managed to calm themselves.

They walked into the cathedral, Sado drying them all with his flames before they sat in the pews, Lisanna explaining to Mira and Elfman what had actually happened the day she supposedly died. Then, she explained about Anima, the light in the sky that Sado had seen. She explained that it was a portal to Edolas, the counterpart of their world, Earth Land. She explained about how only the Dragon Slayers had been immune, and how they had gone through to try and rescue Magnolia and the guild, all of whom had been turned into a giant lacrima. She explained that they had had to fight the servants of Faust, the ruling, and evil, King who was trying to eradicate the Edolas Fairy Tail for using magic lacrima, which is all Edolas had for magic. Then she explained about how Mystogan, who was actually Edolas's missing prince, sent Gajeel and Lucy there with a special pill to allow them to use magic, so that they could help Natsu and Wendy. She explained about how Happy and Carla, along with Gajeel's new flying cat Panther Lilly, where all a race called Exeeds, who had been though to be gods, despite actually being powerless. Then, she explained that Mystogan had reversed the Anima, sending all magic back to Earth Land, including the Exeeds, who had left to find the missing Exeed children who had been sent to Earth Land, along with Happy and Carla, for the purpose of finding the Dragon Slayers.

By the time Lisanna had finished her tail, the rain had stopped. They all left the cathedral, heading back to the Guild, who all but swarmed Lisanna, welcoming her back and instantly beginning to celebrate.

* * *

Leave a review. I absolutely hated the Edolas Arc. Minus Lisanna returning, the entire thing was boring, hard to sit through, and almost pointless. So, I skipped it.


	38. Chapter 38

I do not own any of the original Fairy Tail characters.

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Nominated

Sado watched as the others went about their normal business. Some drank, others fought, Natsu was out cold and snoring loudly, and the new waitress who had picked up most of the hours that Mira dropped to spend time with Sado was walking around and passing out drinks as easily as Mira could. She was a natural. Of course, it helped that the only memories she had were of being a waitress. He had been more than a little surprised when Mira told him that the new waitress with the unusual purple hair was actually Cobra's pet snake. Apparently, she had been turned into a snake at the Tower of Heaven, before Makarov transformed her back into a human. She couldn't remember her past, however, so Makarov kept her around in case she remembered, so that he could protect her.

"Are you excited?" Mira asked. "Today's the day that the nominees for the S-Class promotion exam are selected."

"I'm excited to finally take the exam," Sado said. "But Master Makarov already promised to allow me to take the exam. I'm also sure Natsu, Grey, Ur, and Elfman will be taking it."

"True," Mira nodded. "They are the most likely candidates."

Sado nodded. He looked around as people began to gather around the stage. Mira eeped and said she had to go, quickly darting to the stage just before the curtain began to rise. Sado walked over to the crowd, stopping as people began to shout for Makarov to make his announcement. Makarov finally cleared his throat, silencing the crowd.

"In accordance with the FairyTail Guild's time-honored tradition, I will now announce the entrants for this year's S-class Wizard Promotion Trial!" Makarov announced, eyes meeting Sado's knowingly.

Everyone began to cheer instantly, flames encasing Natsu's entire body beside Sado, Sado rolling his eyes.

"Please be quiet everyone," Erza said.

"Shut up and let the Master finish talkin'," Gildarts said.

"The Trial this year will take place on Tenrou Island, our guild's sacred ground," Makarov said, receiving cheers. "The strength that you possess inside, your character, and your hearts. These are what I considered while making my selection."

"You're obviously making the cut," Natsu smirked at Sado.

"So are you," Sado said.

"I have chosen ten participants," Makarov said. "First, one long overdue. Sado."

Deafening cheers.

"Natsu Dragneel," Makarov said, more cheering erupting, as happened with the rest of the cheers. "Ur. Gray Fullbuster. Elfman. Levy McGarden. Freed Justine. Cana Alberona. Juvia Lockser. And Mest Gryder."

"Who?" Sado blinked, looking around.

"Mest," Natsu said. "The guy that almost passed last year."

"We don't have a Mest Gryder in this guild," Sado said. "Who the hell..."

He stopped, staring at a man in a red shirt with vertical orange stripes, short black hair, a scar on the left side of his face, black pants, and a carefully constructed emotionless expression. Sado's eyes narrowed. Who the hell was that?

"Although eight wizards have been selected, only one will emerge victorious," Makarov continued, Sado listening but not taking his eyes off of the false member, who was staring back as well. "The trial will begin in one week's time, so you'd better step up your preparations. Now, for the benefit of the newcomers, let's go over the rules of the challenge, shall we?"

"The ten participants will each choose a partner," Mira said. "This person will also be allowed to train with them in the week leading up to the event."

"Observe these two rules when choosing your partner," Erza said. "Number one, they must be a member of Fairy Tail. And number two, your choice cannot be an S-Class wizard."

"We'll reveal all the particular details of the trial once we've arrived on Tenrou Island," Makarov said. "But know that you'll have to get past Erza to claim victory."

Sado smirked. Not just Erza. All three S-Class wizards would be waiting as obstacles, though whether he would have to fight all three or only one wasn't set in stone.

"And I'll be doing my very best to help weed out the rest of you right beside her," Mira smiled.

"Quit your bellyaching," Gildarts said, smiling. "The three of us had to go through this trial, it's only fair that you do too."

"The ten participants I named earlier and their chosen partners are asked to meet at the port of Hargeon one week from today, so get to work," Makarov said.

And with that, he turned and walked off the stage. Sado didn't waste another second. Before Mest could take a step, Sade had a painfully tight grip on his upper arm.

"Hey there buddy," Sado snarled. "Can I have a word with you for a minute?"

Mest nodded once, showing no sign of pain, and Sado all but shoved him out of the guild hall and into a back alley before grabbing him by the neck and slamming him into a wall.

"Who the fuck are you!?" Sado snarled. "There's no Mest Gryder in our guild, and yet everyone but me seems to think you took part in the S-Class trials last year. Funny, but I was one of the people overseeing that trial because of my raw power and you _weren't there_! So who the fuck are you!?"

"My name is Mest Gryder," Mest said. "I've been a part of the Fairy Tail Guild for years, and I was the person closest to passing last year. I don't know why you don't remember me, but I assure you I'm actually a part of your guild. Ask anyone."

"I'm asking you!" Sado snarled. "And if you don't start telling me the truth, I'm going to burn you to a crisp! Whatever spell you're using to mess with the others' memory probably won't work so well if you're dead, will it?"

"That's probably unwise," Mest said. "From the rumors I've heard, Fairy Tail is currently under a lot of scrutinization by the Magic Council. One more incident and the council is likely to shut Fairy Tail down."

"Well, according to you, you're a Fairy Tail Guild member," Sado snarled. "What we do in-house is none of the Council's concern as long as there's no property damage."

"I think killing a Division Head of the Magic Council's Rune Knights would qualify, don't you?" Mest asked.

Sado's eyes widened and he lowered Mest to the ground, snarling in rage. "I see. So you're a Magic Council spy. Fine. Let's see how Master Makarov feels about this."

He released him, turning and storming back to the guild hall, flames encasing his hands. He kicked the door open, passing through the guild hall unhindered, reaching Makarov's office in mere moments, Makarov raising an eyebrow as Sado forced his flames to go out, closing and locking the door.

"What can i do for you Sado?" Makarov asked.

"Why?" Sado snarled.

"Why what?"

"WHY ARE YOU LETTING A COUNCIL SPY GO TO TENROU ISLAND!?" Sado demanded.

Makarov sighed. "I should have known you wouldn't be fooled. Firstly, I need you to have faith that I have my reasons for allowing it. Secondly, there is nothing on Tenrou Island that needs to be hidden from the Magic Council. Tenrou Island is beyond their jurisdiction, and as such, is safe."

"Nothing to be hidden?" Sado scoffed. "I NEED TO BE HIDDEN! ! ! If the Magic Council knew about me, they'd destroy Fairy Tail!"

"The Magic Council will not find out about you," Makarov said.

"If they do, I'm not going quietly," Sado warned. "I'll kill anyone they send after me."

"I know," Makarov nodded. "And if they do, the Fairy Tail guild will be there to back you up. No one is going to lock up one of my children. But for now, I need you to trust me."

Sado sighed and nodded. "Okay. If you say you know what you're doing, I trust you."

"Thank you, Sado," Makarov said. "Now, go and start your training. You may be stronger than the others, but that doesn't mean this trial will be easy."

"I know," Sado said. "I'll be ready."

Makarov nodded and Sado turned, walking out of the room and meeting Ur and Mira at the front door.

* * *

Leave a review.


	39. Chapter 39

I do not own any of the original Fairy Tail characters.

* * *

Round One

Sado walked down the road, smiling pleasantly. Beside him, Mira had her arms wrapped around his waist. He snaked an arm around her waist as well, resting his head on top of hers. Suddenly, a door off to the side burst open and a man stumbled out of it, running into Sado and knocking him down, Mira barely staying on her feet. Sado pushed himself up, sighing and dusting himself off.

"Hey watch where you're going asshole!" the man said. "Mirajane? Holy shit! It's you!"

"Do I know...oh no," Mira's hand covered her mouth as she glanced at Sado, who looked to the man and paused, head tilting to the side.

"You look familiar," Sado said, the man turning to him. "Where have I..."

His eyes widened slowly as he realized where. This was the man Mira had been having sex with the day he walked in on her. The day they had broken up. Sado grit his teeth as his hands began to warm. He was grateful he had been training his control for the last week.

"Oh shit, I know you," the man snorted. "You're that guy that ruined the mood while I was plowing the hottest piece of tail in Fiore. Thanks asshole. Real smooth mo-"

Sado snapped, grabbing the man by the throat and slamming him up against the wall. "You better shut your fucking mouth, you piece of shit." one hand had a forearm pressing painfully into the man's windpipe. The other he held back slightly as flames curled off of his fist a foot. "You're goddamn lucky that I don't barbecue you right here for fucking my girlfriend!"

"Well maybe if you were doing your job right I wouldn't have," the man said, glaring at Sado.

Fury flooded through Sado, flames exploding from his fist fifty feet into the air. The man instantly realized his mistake, but it was too late. Before anyone could react, and faster than Mira could try to stop, though she tried, the flames went out and Sado's fist crashed into the man's jaw, hard. Nearly dislocated it. Sado dropped the man to the ground, slamming a knee into the man's groin before taking a deep breath and two steps past the man.

"Consider yourself lucky," Sado said, looking back at him.

Then, he continued walking, Mira quickly joining him at his side, looking up at him worriedly. He sighed tiredly and smiled down at her.

"I really wanted to cook him," Sado said.

"But you didn't," Mira said.

"All thanks to you," Sado said as they reached the train station, taking it to Hargeon and then walking to the port where a two-mast clipper ship waited to take them to Tenrou Island.

They, along with the other participants, all boarded the ship, Sado glaring daggers at Mest, who was watching him warily. The ship set sail after a few minutes and Mira gave Sado one final kiss before walking away to prepare for her part in the trial. The day was a hot one and the other participants each had their own way of dealing with it. Lucy was wearing a white bikini with pink flowers and sitting in a chair in the sun to tan while she complained about the heat, Levy and Cana, who was partnered with Lucy, were watching, Happy was passed out on a small table beside Lucy, Wendy, Mest's partner, was seated at the table looking to be having heat exhaustion already, Freed was ignoring the heat, as were Bixlow and Juvia, Gajeel was being moody at his own table, Lisanna, Juvia's partner, was holding an iced tea to her face, Ur was wearing a dark blue, and rather revealing, bikini while lounging in an un-meltable ice lawn chair slash throne, Evergreen, Elfman's partner by some bizarre twist, was suntanning in a more normal fashion, Elfman was seated beside her in a loincloth trying to act like he wasn't hot, Grey was in a similar state to Lucy except leaning on the side of Ur's throne and completely naked, Loke was sitting in the shade of one of the sails, and Natsu was stumbling around deck trying to decide where to throw up next. Mest seemed to be too interested in tracking their position to mind the heat.

"Did Mest do something to make you mad?" Lisanna asked.

"Yes," Sado said. "But it doesn't really matter. At base he simply can't be trusted."

Lisanna sighed. "I'm sure there's nothing to worry about."

Sado remained silent, looking forward and smiling as he saw the island in the distance. Finally. It had stone cliffs around it, more toward the middle, a pair of massive roots twisting their way into the sky above the island with a massive chunk of land on top covered in forest and giving the impression of a tree, and a forest covering most of the island. There were also a couple of wrecked ships along the coastline. Sado inhaled deeply and sighed, smiling as the feeling of the island's magic energy flooded his senses. He loved this island. He just hoped he didn't set it on fire. Again.

"Please direct your attention to the smoke coming from shore," Makarov said. "Your first task will be to head to its source. Once there you will choose one of the ten routes leading into the island. Each is meant for a single team only so don't doddle and pick one. After you've made your choice you'll have to conquer these obstacles." He held the paper fan in his hand to his side, light condensing into a piece of paper displaying a drawing of ten paths.

Three were labelled "Combat," another "Serenity," and three "Intense Combat." These three paths also had an image of Erza, Mira, and Gildarts respectively. Each "Combat" spot was where two paths converged, leaving only one safe route.

"Teams that make it through these obstacles in one piece will advance to the second round," Makarov continued. "Combat routes are self explanatory. Two teams combat each other, but only one team moves on. Intense Combat routes are more challenging. Find yourself on one of these routes and you'll be facing one of Fairy Tail's elites. On the Serenity route, you will pass the first trial without combat, but you will still be tested. Passing the first round will take determination and a whole lot of luck."

"God I hope I don't have to fight Juvia or Ur," Sado muttered.

"If I've done the math correctly, only a maximum of seven teams will make it to the net round," Evergreen said.

"If you think anyone's getting past Gildarts, you're welcome to volunteer," Sado said, Evergreen glaring at him.

"Your trial starts right now!" Makarov said. "The S-class wizards are already in place."

"What, now?" Gray asked. "We're starting before we're on the island?"

Sado looked to the side to see Freed rapidly forming a barrier around the ship and darted over, catching his hand. "Let me pass, or I'll repay you for the Battle of Fairy Tail the same way I did Laxus."

Freed gulped and nodded, changing the inscription before leaping off of the ship with Bixlow, forming himself a pair of wings. A moment later, Natsu and Happy crashed into the barrier.

"An enchantment!?" Natsu shouted.

"It's not permanent, five more minutes on there won't kill you!" Freed called back to them.

"Sorry guys," Sado said, placing his hands together. "If anyone's going to be getting the Serenity route, it should probably be the one most likely to set the entire island on fire otherwise. Fire Make Dragon!"

He separated his hands, a massive, flaming, serpentine dragon forming beside the ship. He leapt onto it and saluted them just before Juvia swiped a hand up, water shooting up and destroying the dragon. Several of the others laughed as he splashed down. He surfaced, glowering at Juvia before shooting flames out of his feet, launching himself out of the water where he could more easily use his flames. He reformed a dragon and this time got on after it was flying, making it to the island quickly this time and dropping off in time to see Bixlow and Freed sprint into a tunnel up ahead of him. He looked around before turning and walking into another one, sighing as he lit his hand on fire to see.

"I really hope I don't fight Juvia," he sighed. "Water's annoying."

He stopped as he stepped into a stretch of hallway with the floor broken up into chunks and the bottom flooded. He sighed seeing the water, only to look up and grin widely. It wasn't Juvia.

"Well well, my first opponent," Erza said, turning to him. "This should be interesting."

"This should be destructive," Sado smirked, placing his hands together. "Fire Make Sword."

He held the sword to his side and Erza smirked, drawing her own.

"Any ground rules?" Erza asked.

"Try not to let me set the island on fire," Sado said.

"Deal," Erza nodded.

He darted forward, leaping off of his chunk of stone to Erza's, their swords clashing against each other's hard. Just as they did, he spun, slamming a kick into her shin as she blocked it. He jumped, slashing down at her and she blocked it before flipping and kicking him. He crashed to the ground and bounced once before exhaling a stream of flames at her. She spun, shining gold for a second before the flames parted around her sword, red armor covering her.

"There," Erza said. "Now what will you-"

Sado grinned as two fists crashed into her ribs from opposite sides. The armor softened the blow enough to stop any serious damage, but it knocked the wind out of her, as did the two fire clones exploding into twin fireballs and hurling her backward into a chunk of stone, even if it didn't burn her. Erza climbed to her feet, smirking, and readied her sword again.

"Not bad," Erza said. "You timed that well."

"So it would seem," Sado nodded. "Sorry about this."

"What?" Erza asked.

Flames wrapped around her arms and legs, the sword being ripped from her grasp by a flame whip behind her and Sado rocketed forward, flames exploding out of his entire back. Then, he touched down in front of her, flames shooting out of his right elbow and driving his fist into her gut, dropping her.

"Sorry Erza," Sado said, his Fire Clone walking over before dispersing like a match being blown out. "But I'm not going to lose to anyone. Except maybe Gildarts. Or Juvia. Or Ur."

He turned, jumping from one chunk of stone to the next until he reached the tunnel to continue, following it. Soon, he found himself sitting in a clearing, his only company being Gajeel and Levy, who had taken the Serenity route, much to Gajeel's disappointment. He sighed, settling in to wait.

* * *

Leave a review.


	40. Chapter 40

I do not own any of the original Fairy Tail characters.

* * *

The Fire Devil

Sado closed his eyes, clasping his hands. He prayed for forgiveness for his sins, then for strength. Then, he payed his respects to Mavis Vermillion, the first Guild Master of Fairy Tail. The second part of the trial had been to find her grave within six hours, but thanks to having stumbled upon it during the last trial, it had taken him all of twenty minutes. He stood, staring up at the sky through the break in the trees, then turned, looking in the general direction of the base camp. Bixlow and Freed should be there after throwing the fight with Lucy and Cana as repayment for the Battle of Fairy Tail, as should Juvia and Lisanna after fighting Ur. And then Gray and Loke had spoiled Sado's fun by beating Mest and Wendy, so those two should be there. In a miraculous turn of events, Natsu had somehow made it past Gildarts, and in an even greater surprise, Elfman and Evergreen somehow actually beat Mira. That left seven.

He froze, stiffening and turning to his right. He could sense something was off. There was something dark, evil, disturbing the magic energy of the island in the distance. However, no sooner had that thought crossed his mind did a massive column of flame explode into existence on a cliff to the other side. Sado snarled in rage. Who dared defile their island? He sprinted into the trees, sprinting toward the explosion, only to slow to a stop as he heard a whining noise above himself. He looked up, catching sight, briefly, of a humanoid goat with a jetpack flying overhead, orange spheres falling from the jetpack by the hundreds, expanding as they fell. Sado's eyes narrowed just as one of them shattered, a man wearing a purple robe with a white mask bearing the Grimoire Heart crest falling toward him, slashing with the sword held in his hands. Before he could reach Sado, Sado roared, a stream of flames blasting him and a dozen more above him away from him. However, more and more began to land around Sado, all brandishing weapons. Sado crouched, flames blazing to life on his hands, reaching well above the trees.

"How dare you defile our sacred island!?" Sado snarled. "You're all going to burn!"

He spun, firing twin jets of flame from his hands, the flames blasting the ground around him, igniting dozens of the soldiers, the rest shrinking back from their burning comrades. Those he had hit screamed in agony and fear, rolling around on the ground and trying to get the fire out. One soldier stepped forward to slash Sado only for Sado to spun, a flame sword appearing in his hand and slicing through the soldier's sword and then the soldier himself. Then, Sado slammed his hands together and sent a dozen flaming wolves charging through the trees after the remaining soldiers as they fled. Sado looked around before his head whipped around toward the beach where the base camp should be, hearing explosions going off in that direction.

"Mira!" He breathed, sprinting in that direction.

As he ran, the explosions began to grow stronger, shaking the ground and grow louder. Then, he skidded to a stop as he met Levy and Gajeel, both wounded, though Gajeel far more heavily than Levy, and making their way toward the base camp. He stepped forward just as the hair all over his body stood on end, a reaction that only ever happened when he was around Mira's She Devil form. He sprinted forward, grabbing Gajeel and throwing him over his shoulder, sprinting forward, Levy following instantly.

"What's going on?" Levy asked.

"Someone's fighting Mira at Base Camp!" Sado snarled. "We'll treat your wounds after I deal with whoever it is."

Suddenly, his body went numb and he tumbled to the ground staring at his hand. He felt a specific piece of his flames returning to him, a fireball floating over his hand before sinking into it.

"The necklace," Sado breathed.

Instantly, he grabbed both Gajeel and Levy and threw them onto his shoulder just as a much larger explosion rocked the entire island. Flames exploded out of his back and he shot through the trees with blinding speed. Mere seconds later, Sado froze. They were standing beside a massive scorched crater in the ground, Lisanna kneeling in the center of it, holding Mira's burned and bloodied form. Sado grit his teeth, setting Gajeel and Levy gently on the ground before kneeling beside Lisanna, who stared at him in fear, Levy watching her face in confusion. Sure he had a tendency to be more violent when angry, but it's not like she was to blame. She was safe, right?

"I got caught," Lisanna said. "Mira shielded me."

Sado reached down, pressing his fingers against Mira's neck, feeling for a pulse. After a moment he stood, fists trembling.

"Lisanna, keep Levy out of the way," Sado said, turning to stare at the man watching him.

The man had orange pants, a green tunic, and brown hair that reached back and outward like a mane. The man turned to face Sado fully, Sado walking toward him, entire body beginning to shake.

"Sado, are you sure you can handle him?" Levy asked, stepping forward. "I can-"

"Levy," Lisanna said, catching her by the arm and pulling her back. "Trust me. You need to stay out of his way now. You're about to see where he got his nickname."

"What, the Phoenix?" Levy asked.

"No, not the Phoenix," Lisanna said. "That's the moniker that Sado chose. He has another, older moniker. His true moniker. Only five people in the guild know it even exists."

"What is it?" Levy asked.

Sado growled, his voice deep, much deeper than Levy had ever heard, yet his flames were only just beginning to flicker on his hands.

"The Fire Devil," Lisanna said.

Just as she did, Sado leaned back, roaring, voice like a volcanic eruption as a massive wall of flames exploded into the air behind him. Levy stared in awe and terror at the sight. Then, she watched as flames began to grow on his body, already forming the usual traits. Flames coating his hands like a second skin, forming golden hands with flattened fingers, sharp on both the insides and outsides. Flames formed over his feet, forming into clawed reptile-like feet similar to Freed's when he had transformed into a pseudo demon. The toes on the front were flattened and sharp, like his fingers, and the one on the back was no different. From the back of his spine, a flaming tail formed, long, thin, and tipped with a deadly point. Flames burned his shirt and pants away, leaving a specialized body suit that was designed to not be harmed by his flames. The flames formed a sort of cuirass on his body, spikes reaching backward from the tops of his shoulders, his sides, and then reaching around between his legs. Finally, flames began to grow from his head, forming into a pair of horns. Everything the flames had formed were golden and condensed so much they were actually solid. Levy's jaw dropped.

"Levy, you know that standing rule where only Master Makarov is allowed to fight him when he's out for blood?" Lisanna asked.

"Yeah," Levy nodded.

"You're finally about to find out why," Lisanna said. "You're about to see what only three in the guild have before you."

"Is he..." Levy trailed off, staring as Sado roared again, the flames behind him bleaching pure white, the heat from them making both girls shrink back, Mira stirring and looking to the side, staring at Sado.

"That's right," Lisanna said. "He's a literal devil. Sado was never human. He lost his memory and only thought he was, like the devils he helped on Galuna Island. He didn't destroy that village he woke up in because he lost control. He did it because he's a devil. A monster. His loss of control was a result of a family of wizards, the people he thought were his family, sacrificing their lives to erase his memory, transforming his body into that of a human child. He reverts to his devil form when he accesses his full power, when he loses control of his anger."

"Sado..." Mira breathed, both girls looking to her in surprise and joy.

Sado roared again, his power spiking against the block that the suppression seal was causing. Finally, he felt the shift. The seals spread outward from him, cracked and flickering. Then, he roared one final time, the seal shattering. Instantly, a shockwave of power exploded outward from him as he roared, the Grimoire Heart wizard skidding backward along the ground but the shockwave passing over Lisanna, Levy, and Mira harmlessly. The sheer force of the magic energy growing inside of him caused the entire island to begin to shake like an earthquake. The wall of flames behind him had grown now, reaching from the waterline off to his right, back around behind him and around Mira and the others to the waterline on his left. On both ends, the water was evaporating before it could reach it.

"So, I get to defeat both the She Devil, and the Fire Devil," the man said. "This is truly an honor. My name is Azuma."

"You hurt Mira!" Sado seethed, voice back to normal before plunging back to its deep, demonic roar. "I'LL KILL YOU! ! !"

The wall of flames suddenly exploded skyward, all spiraling together as it curve, rapidly forming into a gigantic, white-hot fist, shooting down at Azuma, whose eyes widened as he began to sink into the ground. Then, the fist hit the ground and exploded. Levy and Lisanna covered their ears, both trying and failing to shut out the deafening noise as the explosion shot outward, a massive blast of white flames shooting away from the island. The flames were a hundred feet tall easy and two hundred wide. Then, when it finally faded, they stared at the damage. There was a gigantic crater where the fist had hit, then a massive trail shot away from the island, fifty feet deep, the sand and dirt that had been there had been cooked into obsidian, and the water for several hundred feet around had been evaporated in its entirety, meaning that, for a moment, there was a wall of water suspended in the air almost a hundred feet tall on the far end. Then, the water came rushing back, Sado swinging an arm and forming a wall of flames that stopped the overflow from flooding the area until the water had settled before going out.

"Um...Sado?" Levy asked, taking a hesitant step forward. "Are...are you..."

"Stay back," Sado snarled, voice somewhere between demonic and normal. "He's not dead yet."

"What!?" Levy gaped. "That didn't kill him? How?"

Suddenly vines began to shoot out of the ground, spiraling to catch her, only for Sado to appear, slashing them apart with his claws before grabbing Levy by the arm and shoving her back to Lisanna. Levy stared at her arm where he had grabbed her, having only felt a warm sensation, rather than her skin boiling like it should have. Then, Sado turned, Azuma rising from the ground, right arm and the right side of his head burned and swollen, but otherwise unscathed.

"I seem to have underestimated your abilities," Azuma said. "Try this!" He held his hand out, an explosion shooting out of it and engulfing Sado, only to clear and leave Sado unharmed.

"I'm made of fire, you stupid fuck," Sado snarled. "I'm unable to be damaged by fire-type attacks, even your Great Tree Arc."

Azuma swung his arm and chunks of wood shooting out of the ground, each shaped into a sharp spike, and numbering in the hundreds. Sado's arm snapped up, a massive tongue of white-hot flames shot out of his palm, incinerating the spikes instantly and exploding against the ground beside Azuma. Azuma flipped, landing on his feet just as dozens of root shot out of the ground, wrapping around and binding Sado.

"This is my ultimate technique," Azuma said. "Even you will fall to this."

"I swear, if this is just some massive fiery explosion-"

"Terra Clamare!" Azuma interrupted, the branches and roots holding Sado beginning to glow.

Then, they erupted into a massive ball of flames. It began to expand, the heat several times what the smaller explosion Azuma had tried before. Sado sighed opening his hands, flexing his palms.

"You're a fool," Sado snarled, voice echoing from the flames, as they halted their outward progress, beginning to spin around him instead. "I told you, no amount or power of flames can harm me now. I am flame. I'm a God damned devil for Christ's sake! Fire is my toy! My weapon! My life source!"

The flames began to sink into his body, vanishing in a matter of seconds as Azuma stared in terror. Sado landed lightly on the ground, watching as Azuma panted for breath. Azuma's arm snapped up, but before he could attack Sado, Sado's arm flashed upward, a fireball bursting out of the ground, roasting the skin on it, earning a scream of agony. As Azuma fell onto his back, writhing as his arm hissed and popped, Sado walked over to him, kneeling and driving his claws into Azuma's left shin, earning another scream.

"Now you're going to pay for all the pain you've caused," Sado snarled. "Now, you're going to pay for harming Mira."

Azuma screamed in agony as Sado ripped the claws out, driving them back in higher. Then again. Finally, a hand rested on Sado's shoulder and Sado stopped, turning his head slightly to stare at Mira.

"You're not a devil just because you take the form of a devil," Mira said.

"I know," Sado said. "Thank you. I'm alright this time, though." He turned back to Azuma. "I should thank you. Because of you, I finally have control of my full power. I'll probably have to train to fine tune it, but...I'll do you a favor and make it quick."

Azuma's eyes widened in fear as Sado raised his hand.

"You wasted too much energy on your explosive spells," Sado said. "That's why you lost."

Then, he drove his hand downward, directly through Azuma's chest, piercing his heart with two of his claws before ripping the hand back out, blood pooling below Azuma as Sado took a breath, his flames fading, leaving him in his body suit. Then, his legs gave out, Mira managing to catch him but also falling to her knees, hugging him. He wrapped his arms around her as well, head resting tiredly on her shoulder.

"I'm sorry," Mira said. "I didn't mean to scare you."

"You lost...your necklace," Sado mumbled. "I'll make you...a new one...when we get back."

Mira smiled, nodding. "Okay."

"I love you Mira," Sado said. "I'm so glad you're alive."

"I'm happy you're safe too," Mira smiled. "Rest now Sado. I'll wake you up if we need you."

Sado nodded, passing out almost instantly.

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	41. Chapter 41

I do not own any of the original Fairy Tail characters.

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Devil vs God

"Sado! Sado wake up! We need you!"

Sado's eyes snapped open and he stared up at the sky in silence. He sat up, looking to his left at the line of wounded wizards. Him, Mira, Elfman, Evergreen, Gajeel. To his right were Lisanna, Levy, and Panther Lily. And beyond them, a wizard wearing sunglasses, silver hair gelled up then backward like Johnny Bravo, a dark grey sweater under a dark blue jacket with a fur-lined hood, light grey gloves, dark grey pants, and black shoes. Sado stood, turning and walking past his three friends, all of whom parted for him. Sado looked up, feeling the rain on his face before looking back to the enemy, still having showed no emotion.

"Who are you?" Sado asked.

"My name is Rustyrose," the man said. "And you are?"

"I'm Fairy Tail's Fire Devil," Sado said, his flame body parts growing back into existence in the blink of an eye, returning him to his devil form, this time without the explosions or earthquake. "And I'm going to kill you."

Rustyrose smirked and snapped his fingers, a massive mechanical demon-looking creature appearing over him, only for Sado to appear in front of it, both hands resting on its chest.

"What are you-"

A massive explosion shot out of Sado's palms, blasting the creature into oblivion and Sado dropped to the ground, turning to Rustyrose and narrowing his eyes.

"Arc of Embodiment," Sado said. "You can create anything you can imagine. And that thing's the best you can do?"

"Jet Black Sword!" Rustyrose said, his right arm turning into a massive black tentacle with a sort of mouth on the end, five sharp teeth spread around it.

It streaked toward Sado only for Sado to catch it.

"Your magic is wasted on you." Sado slashed the tentacle, severing it before appearing in front of Rustyrose, slashing his gut and slamming him into the ground.

Then, as he formed a snow-white fireball to finish him with, a black one hit it, both exploding into a massive mushroom of monochromatic flames. Sado landed on his feet and one hand in front of the other three and growled angrily, watching as a blonde with his hair down to the back of his knees, red pants, and a sadistic grin on his face appeared in front of Rustyrose, who turned and fled.

"Sorry," the man said. "I'm Zancrow, and I can't have you killing my guild members. That's my job."

"Flame God Slayer," Sado snarled, grinning widely. "Well then. Shall we see which is stronger? A Fire Devil, or a Flame God?"

"Way ahead of you," Zancrow smirked. "Flame God's Kagatsuchi!"

Zancrow shouted, a sphere of black flames appearing around himself as he leapt forward. Sado inhaled then roared, a stream of white-hot flames shooting out of his mouth, exploding against the black flames and forcing Zancrow to jump back. Zancrow grinned, inhaling, Sado doing the same. Then, both roared, twin streams of flame blasting into each other, fighting to overpower the other. As they fought, a pair of flaming wolves suddenly leapt off of a cliff above Zancrow, falling toward him. Zancrow ended his attach, spinning and destroying both with his flames before avoiding Sado's stream of flame. He turned back to Sado just as Sado reached him, sweeping both arms forward, a pair of walls of flame crashing together around Zancrow and exploding. Zancrow sailed backward, crashing to the ground and groaning, his torso burned but a sadistic smile on his face.

"Oh yeah!" Zancrow grinned. "This is fun! No wonder Azuma never got off the beach!"

Zancrow shot forward, black flames encasing his fists as he began to fight Sado, Sado deflecting and countering when he could. Zancrow was good, though, and kept Sado from being able to do much."

"You lose!" Zancrow shouted, leaping back as a pair of massive flaming half-faces formed from his hands, each with a glowing red eye. "Flame God's Dinner!"

He swung his hands forward, the jaws slamming shut around Sado. However, as Sado felt his skin burning he merely grinned. Then, he roared, bright white flames exploding out of his body, blasting Zancrow's flames off of himself before he streaked toward Zancrow driving his clawed hand through Zancrow's abdomen. Zancrow caught his arm and roared, blasting Sado at point blank range with his flames, sending Sado crashing to the ground beside the water. Sado pushed himself up as Zancrow raised his hands, a massive black fireball appearing between them.

"Just die!" Zancrow raged, hurling the fireball.

Sado punched his hand forward, sending a massive stream of flames exploding into Zancrow's fireball, holding it back but slowly losing ground. Sado added a second stream and the fireball halted.

"Impressive!" Zancrow shouted, appearing over him with a second, equally giant fireball in-hand. "Try this!"

He hurled it downward, the fireball hitting Sado and exploding, setting the first one off as well. As the smoke cleared, Zancrow grinned as he saw Sado lying in the center of the crater, badly burned and lying motionless.

"Hah!" Zancrow shouted. "God beats Devil!"

He slid down the side of the cliff to Sado just as Sado leapt over him, landing on his feet at the edge of the cliff, slamming his hands into the ground.

"Goodbye Zancrow," Sado snarled.

Then, the walls of the crater exploded, white-hot flames and magma exploding out of it, the flames igniting Zancrow instantly, Zancrow screaming in agony as he rolled around on the ground, at least for the second or two that the magma took to bury him. After a moment, the crater was full and Sado stood, watching it boil. He turned to walk away, only to feel Zancrow's magic energy rising again. He turned, seeing the lava beginning to rize, falling away from the thing that rose out of them on twin jets of black flames. Parts of his body were melted down to the bone, others charred black, and the skin still boiling in others. Muscle groups were exposed in some places, but Zancrow didn't seem to notice, including that one cheek had melted off, exposing the muscle that ran up through the cheek along with the side of his jaw.

"DIE! ! !" Zancrow shrieked, rocketing toward Sado.

Sado turned to him fully and in one swift movement, formed a white-hot flame sword, splitting Zancrow in half from head to groin, the pieces crashing down behind him. Then, Sado returned to the others, allowing his flames to cool back to normal before he lay down beside Mira again, gently brushing some loose hair out of her face.

"Are you sure you're completely in control?" Lisanna asked. "Because I don't know anyone that can stop you."

"I've never felt better," Sado said. "Now, once again, wake me if you need me."

Lisanna nodded and Sado closed his eyes, almost instantly passing out.

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	42. Chapter 42

I do not own any of the original Fairy Tail characters.

* * *

Acnologia

Sado shivered. It was cold. But yet, he could feel the warm breeze, the heat of the sun. He shivered again. A stronger gust of wind hit him. Then another. And another. He could hear something. The steady "Thwoom, thwoom, thwoom" of a massive pair of wings. Another shiver. Fear. That's what it was. He wasn't cold. He was afraid.

Sado's eyes drifted open just as the world exploded into sound, loud enough to have been in the center of an explosion. His ears felt like they were being stabbed by a white-hot needle. He sat up slowly, the blanket covering him falling to his lap before he rolled forward onto his feet and stood, the blanket falling to the ground. He stepped out from under the lean-to that had been mostly shielding him from the sun, save for his face as the shadow shifted, and looked up, ignoring the others who were standing around and paying him just as little mind. The sound came again, louder than before. He could swear it sounded like a roar, but the creature roaring would have to be unbelievably massive. Just as it ended, Gildarts, Cana, Lucy, Happy, and Natsu all ran over, all of them bandaged heavily, save for Gildarts.

A third roar echoed as Sado finally pinpointed the source. A massive black dragon began to sink from the clouds, roaring again as it spotted the island. It had a dark grey underside and blue marking over its black scales, and it was double the size of their new guild hall, maybe more. Sado narrowed his eyes as he watched the thing drawing closer. A name appeared in his mind. Acnologia.

"Hey Dragon!" Natsu shouted. "Do you know where I can find-"

"Shut the fuck up Natsu!" Sado snapped, everyone staring at him.

Sado clenched his fists, squeezing his eyes shut. There were more thoughts flooding his mind now. Things that he recognized. Fires. Attacks. Faces. Those same faces burning. Places. Places burning. He remembered doing it too. He had loved it. Every second of it. Every death. Every fire. Every fight. There had been many fights. Many powerful wizards who had sought to finally slay the monster that burned down entire kingdoms for laughs. He ignored the ground shaking, ignored the continued roars. So many dead. So many fires. So many years. Centuries of death and destruction. All him. All his fault. He felt his eyes burn as tears fell, at the same time as he began to laugh hysterically. He was a monster. Truly. Even Acnologia couldn't be nearly as evil as he was. He was a _demon_ , after all. He was _born_ to be evil. And he had loved it. Loved it almost as much as he loved Mira.

The ground shook. A painfully strong blast of wind and sound crashed into him, and he heard the island behind him being torn asunder by the force. He opened his eyes, flames bursting to life on his body, forming into his devil traits, his power skyrocketing toward what it once had been, back before he had lost his memory. He snarled in annoyance as the dragon roared again.

"Don't...FUCK WITH ME! ! !" Sado roared, a massive wall of flames exploding out of the ground around him and blasting the dragon in the chest, actually sending it skidding backward a few meters before it dug its claws in halting itself and roaring, dispersing the flames.

"Sado!" Mira screamed.

Sado huffed, smirking in amusement as flames formed into a pair of wings, spreading out and allowing him to float into the air, even without them beating. "Leave."

Everyone stared at him.

"All of you get the hell out of here," Sado snarled. "I'll deal with this fucker, but I can't go all out without destroying the island. So I need you all to leave."

"You'll die!" Mira said.

"Good," Sado said, looking back at them, all of them staring at him in shock as they saw the tears. "I've been alive for almost five centuries now. An for almost five centuries, I've been a monster, burning entire kingdoms to the ground for entertainment. Whatever pain, whatever suffering this dragon gives me, I deserve."

Mira took a step forward but a wall of flames exploded to life before her, stopping her. Sado turned back to Acnologia and inhaled. Then, he roared, a jet of pure white flames shot out of his mouth, blasting into the dragon's face and earning a deafening roar as the dragon backed away. Sado continued the assault the dragon with flames as he held his right hand out, a massive, pure white hand made of flame forming. Then, as soon as Sado stopped to breathe, he sent the hand forward, slamming a punch into the dragon. The fist exploded, launching the dragon backward before it flapped its wings, roaring again.

"Well come on then," Sado grinned.

He shot forward, expanding his flaming hands to double their size, the claws extending almost six inches. Acnologia met his charge, swiping at him only for Sado to slip between a pair of claws and slash along Acnologia's side, instantly noting that his claws did nothing. He spun once beside Acnologia and roared again, blasting Acnologia into the ground. Acnologia roared in rage and spun, his tail crashing into Sado and blasting him into the ground. Sado bounced and flipped, spitting out several massive fire balls before landing on his feet and roaring, sending a stream of flames at Acnologia again. Acnologia lifted its fore foot to block the stream of flames, only for the fireballs to hit on his sides, exploding. Acnologia roared shooting forward and swatting Sado with its front foot again, blasting him along the ground to the water where Sado stopped, standing and roaring, flames exploding off of his body everywhere. Acnologia roared, shooting after Sado, only for Sado to shoot forward and under him, then upward into his gut, fist first. Acnologia roared in pain, shooting skyward, Sado following, slamming punches or kicks into him rapidly, forcing him further and further into the air. Then, when they were far enough away, Sado shot around behind Acnologia and pulled his hands back above himself, pure white flames forming in them. The sheer heat of them began to make the world around himself and Acnologia distort and Acnologia's head snapped around toward him just as Sado swung his arms forward toward the dragon.

"JUST DIE! ! !" Sado roared, sending a jet of flames through the fireball, turning it into a massive column of flame that blasted into Acnologia and launched him away from Sado and the island in a massive continuing explosion that tore across the sky.

Sado dropped back to the island as he watched the pitch black smoke that now filled the sky above them. It wasn't nearly over. If anything he had probably pissed Acnologia off more than anything. Sure enough, a moment later Acnologia descended from the smoke above Sado, sinking to the ground while growling, glaring at Sado. Sado could see the massive scorch mark stretching around the front of Acnologia's shoulder, but when he raised himself into the air again, he saw that the blast had only done just that. It had scorched Acnologia's scales. Nothing more.

"That's a hell of a thick skin," Sado said. "I'm legitimately impressed."

"Maybe we can all get through it if we work together, then," Mira said, stepping up beside him in her She Devil form, a sphere of darkness between her hands.

"I thought I told you to leave," Sado said, eyes narrowing.

"And I told you that I'm never going to leave you," Mira said. "If I left and you died, I'd have no reason to live. Where you go, I follow. Even if that means death."

Sado looked around, seeing the others all gathered behind them. He smiled, feeling a tear slide down his cheek. "You're all fools. You could have all lived."

"It just wouldn't be the same without you," Gray said, forming an Ice Cannon.

"Let's go!" Laxus shouted, Sado not entirely sure when he had arrived.

Sado formed a sphere of pure white flames between his hands, careful not to make it hot enough to harm any of his friends from proximity. Then, all at once, everyone fired an attack, Lucy having Sagittarius fire a hail of arrows. All of the attacks combined into a glowing blue vortex with lightning flashing around it like a drill, all of it surrounding Sado's flames. Sado watched as the blast hit Acnologia and exploded into a sphere of energy and flames around the gigantic dragon. As it was beginning to thin, Gajeel, Wendy, and Natsu all flew into the air over it with the help of their cats, all three firing their elemental roar into the dragon, sending it blasting into the water. Except that they together were weaker than all of them combined had been.

"Did it work?" Natsu asked.

"You wish," Sado said just as Acnologia shot into the air, beginning to inhale, light blue energy flowing into his mouth from the air before him. "We're fucked."

He watched as the dragon's mouth began to glow, the dragon's power getting more and more easily noticed. Sado was having trouble breathing through it.

"Sado," Mira said, she and Lisanna holding their hands out to him. "Freed and Levy need our power."

Sado looked to the dragon again before nodding and taking their hands, his flames going out instantly as he channeled his magical energy through the circle.

"Okay kids," Makarov said. "Let's all go home together."

"Back home to Fairy Tail," they all said as one.

Then, the dragon fired its attack and light blinded Sado before his senses all fell away.

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	43. Chapter 43

I do not own any of the original Fairy Tail characters.

* * *

Times Change

Sado groaned as he felt his senses returning. His entire body fell sore. Like it was after his fight with Jose. But he felt something else too. The pain was fading as someone's hands gently shook him, trying to wake him. His eyes creaked open and he stared up at the smiling green-eyed blonde above him. She wore a pink dress and had a pair of white-feathered-wing-like objects extending from the sides of her head.

"Mavis?" Sado asked, voice barely a hoarse whisper. "But...how...you...you saved us, didn't you?"

Mavis smiled and stood, turning around. Sado looked and saw Mira lying beside him, her hand a couple inches from his. Sado sat bolt upright instantly, ignoring his body's protests, and gently lifted Mira's upper body.

"Mira?" Sado said. "Hey, wake up!"

Mavis knelt, placing her thumb to Mira's forehead for a moment before removing it and turning, disappearing into the trees. Sado looked down just a Mira moaned miserably, stirring and looking up at him, smiling.

"We survived," Mira smiled before confusion set in. "How?"

"Mavis," Sado said. "She was here. She protected us somehow."

Mira's eyebrows furrowed in confusion but she smiled, nodding. "Okay."

Just then, Jet appeared out of the trees, except that he looked older. A lot older.

"Jet?" Sado blinked. "Is that you?"

"Sado! Mira!" Jet sprinted over to them in a blur, grabbing both in a hug as he cried happily. After a moment, he pulled back, grinning widely. "You're both alive!"

"Yeah, not really sure how," Sado said. "How long were we out?"

"Seven years," Jet said. "How come no one looks any older?"

"No one?" Sado blinked. "You found the others? Are they alright?"

"Everyone's okay," Jet said. "They're pretty beat up from whatever happened before the explosion, but they'll live."

"How's the guild?" Sado asked.

"It's...It's in ruins," Jet admitted. "Without all of you, pretty much everyone had to leave to find work elsewhere. We couldn't handle the bigger jobs so the jobs just stopped coming in."

"Well, we'd better go and do something about that then," Sado said. "Come on. I assume you guys have a ship to get us home with."

"Of course," Jet smiled. "Do you guys need help?"

Sado stood, holding Mira bridal-style, and shook his head, following Jet back to the beach where the others that had been on the island were waiting. As soon as Sado stepped out of the trees with Mira, he stopped, both of them staring at what had to be droy, based solely on the hair. He was now fatter than Reedus.

"Droy?" Sado asked, Droy hanging his head in embarrassment.

"Uh...yeah," Droy said. "I...uh...stress eat."

"I can tell," Sado said, glancing at the rest of those who had survived the island, seeing that Ur had a bandaged gash in her side and a broken arm, both of which he hadn't noticed during the Acnologia incident. "Who did you fight again?"

"My daughter, Ultear," Ur said. "I couldn't fight."

"I would imagine not," Sado said. "Is she..."

"She left the island with her friend Melody," Ur said. "I think...I think I was able to save her."

"I'm glad," Sado smiled before a flash of old memory shot through his mind and it faded. "We should get home. We have a lot of work to do."

"Indeed we do," Makarov nodded.

They all got onto the ship and set sail, reaching Hargeon a few hours later. Then, a couple hours of train riding later, and Sado dropped Natsu's motion sick form on the ground of Magnolia's street. Just as he did, they saw five wizards bearing a Twilight Ogre crest walking through the street away from the Fairy Tail guild hall, which had been redecorated with an ogre face on the front, just as Jet and the others had said.

"Oh no," Jet said. "They're heading for the guild hall!"

"We'll follow them," Sado said. "If we start a fight for no obvious reason, we'll get in trouble. But once they break into our guild hall, we'll have full rights to defend ourselves."

"Good idea," Makarov nodded.

Natsu pushed himself up and they all followed the Twilight Ogre wizards, reaching the new Fairy Tail Guild Hall in mere minutes, watching as a grown up Romeo prepared to fight the wizards, only for his purple flames to be blown out. Just as the leader reached for his massively over-sized club, Natsu darted forward, kicking him and sending him sailing across the guild hall, which was about the size of the first one before Gajeel destroyed it.

"Who in the hell!?" the other four Twilight Ogre wizards said, turning toward the group as Sado and Gray stepped forward.

Gray send out ice spikes that sent one of them flying, and Sado formed three flaming wolves who pinned the other three to the ground, jaws holding their throats but not breaking the skin, yet.

"Well look at this," Sado said, stepping into the guild hall as the leader of the group stood, watching the new group. "We've got some rodents in our guild hall. Maybe we should call an exterminator. Actually, on second thought, I don't think we can afford one. Maybe I'll handle this myself."

"No please!" the three he had pinned shouted. "We'll leave! You'll never see us again!"

"I don't know," Sado said. "It seems like you guys have been a problem for my guild quite a lot recently. Tell you what. If you all leave Magnolia and never return, I'll let you go."

"We will!" all three shouted.

"Alright boys, you can let them up now," Sado said.

The wolves released their captives, allowing the three to flee, the one Gray had hit following suit, then walked over to Sado and sat around him, Sado scratching behind two of the wolves' ears as he turned to the leader of the invading group.

"Now, I think you'd better run on home and let your Guild Master know that we'll be dropping by later to discuss finances with him," Sado said. "As well as possession of our guild hall. Not this one though. I mean the one you guys kicked us out of."

"Yes, of course!" the wizard said. "Right away!"

Then, he sprinted out of the guild hall, running toward his own. Sado sat down in a chair, Mira sitting in his lap, and the three wolves lay around him, one of them choosing to sit with his head in Mira's lap, both of them petting him.

"They're like dogs," Mira said. "Almost like they're alive."

"They are," Sado said. "Most basic rule of fire is that it _is_ alive."

The wolf barked before letting its tongue hang out and panting like a dog as they scratched its head. Mira laughed happily. Then, The others began to explain what had happened from their individual points of view.

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	44. Chapter 44

I do not own any of the original Fairy Tail characters.

* * *

Identity

Sado smiled as he watched Mira walking beside him, one hand on her new necklace. It was the same as the last one, and had been made in a single day thanks to the jeweler having remembered how to make it from the last time. Aside from that, Sado had payed off everyone's late rent, most for Lucy but also for Erza, Wendy, Juvia, and Evergreen. Mira and her siblings had had to dust their house, which Sado helped with while the necklace was being made, and now, he, Makarov, Mira, and Erza were on their way to Twilight Ogre's guild hall to talk about their debt.

"We should run them out of our guild hall," Sado said, petting one of his three wolves, which he had kept since they got back. "It wouldn't be hard."

"Let's be reasonable," Makarov said.

"And if they refuse to let us out of our debt?" Sado asked.

"Well, then we'll just have to do things your way," Makarov said. "But be nice about taking back what's ours."

"As you wish," Sado smiled. "And Master, I'll need to speak with you after we finish this."

"Alright," Makarov nodded.

They reached the guild hall and knocked, the doors swinging open and the four of them, plus Sado's pet fire wolves, walked into the guild hall, heading to the Guild Master's office where he was smoking a cigarette, looking every bit the mob boss that rumor made him out to be.

"I know why you're here," the man said as Makarov sat on the couch in front of him, Sado, Mira, and Erza taking positions behind him, the wolves sitting down on the ends of the couch and in front of Makarov, who scratched that one's head, smiling. "Now I'm done playing games old man. I ain't got nothin else to say to you, m'kay? There ain't no way I'm gonna back down until you and your guild pay the debt you owe me."

"I would like nothing more than to pay you," Makarov said. "But I'm sure you're well aware of the financial rut we've found ourselves in."

"Your business record has a lot of holes in them," Mira smiled sweetly. "It makes you wonder if we're paying more than we really owe."

"Would you care to explain that?" Erza asked.

"You tramp!" the man shouted. "Are you accus-"

He stopped as all three wolves stood, snarling and glaring at him, flames beginning to rise off of Sado's shoulders.

"What was that word?" Sado asked. "That one that sounded like an insult, or like you were insinuating something?"

"Uh...n-nothin!" the man stammered. "I-I didn't say nothin!"

"Easy now Sado," Makarov said, Sado allowing his flames to go out, the wolves sitting down but continuing to glare at the Guild Master. "As I was saying, we're not accusing you of anything. You can be assured that we'll repay whatever we owe with proper interest. Someday."

"You're starting to try my patience you little pissant!" the man shouted, standing up.

"Forgive me," Makarov said. "That came out wrong. I only meant that we should renegotiate our terms."

"I don't negotiate with little deadbeats who rough up my boys and don't pay their dues!" the man shouted. "You might think you can get away with it, but me and the boys got a reputation to uphold."

"I see," Makarov said. "We came here to discus money, but if you would rather discus your reputation, I'd be more than happy to tell you what I think of you."

"What are you going on about now?" the man thundered.

"Get back what you're owed," Makarov said. "If memory serves, that's the moto for the Twilight Ogre. Sort of like an eye for an eye. When you look at it like that, you owe us for seven years of property damage and assault."

"Being as that's the way things stand now, we have some new terms that you _will_ be accepting," Sado said, the wolves standing again and moving to have two on either side of the desk and one on top of it, the Guild Master backing up against the wall as Sado's flames grew nearly to the ceiling from his torso and arms. "First, our debt is payed in full already, so you can forget about that. Second, this is _our_ guild hall, so you'll be giving us back the title and then getting the hell out of our house. Third, you'll be leaving Magnolia, because if not we'll consider you agents of the Baram Alliance. And we've been dealing with them quite...painfully. Understood?"

"Yes!" the man shouted. "Yes! We accept!"

"I thought you would," Sado said, his flames going out. "Now leave."

The guild Master scrambled past the wolves, sprinting out of the building with the rest of his guild. Sado looked to Makarov who gave him an exasperated look.

"What?" Sado asked. "I was nice. I didn't even set anybody on fire."

He walked outside, looking up at the ogre on the front of the building and launched a fireball into it, the explosion blasting the ogre and all of the green decorations attached to it into ash, which blew away from Magnolia in the wind, leaving the Fairy Tail sign that Twilight Ogre had been too lazy to remove.

"There," Sado said. "Now we just need to fix it up and we can move back in."

"Let's head back and tell everyone the good news," Mira smiled.

"Yeah," Sado nodded. "Good idea."

They all headed back and Mira and Erza went to make the announcement. As they did, Sado and Makarov walked to Makarov's office in the upper floor of the building. Sado closed the door behind himself and then sat down heavily in the chair in front of Makarov's desk, resting his head in his hands, eyes closed as memories assaulted him.

"You're remembering, aren't you?" Makarov asked, already knowing the answer.

"I can remember all of it," Sado said. "Every fire, every fight. Every death. I can see the face of everyone I've ever murdered. I burned entire kingdoms away for fun. For hundreds of years. It's funny, losing seven years of my life really doesn't seem that important to me. I used to sleep longer than that. Even when I still thought I was human after losing my memory, time didn't seem to be quite the same to me as others. I used to wonder why everyone treated a year like it was a long time. To me, it always felt like nothing. Now I really know why. But you knew. You knew who I was from the moment you set eyes on me, didn't you?"

"Yes," Makarov nodded. "From the moment I saw you, a mere child on fire, so afraid of his own power that he wanted to cry, but couldn't, I knew exactly who and what you were."

"Then tell me!" Sado said, tears forming in his eyes. "What am I? Am I Fairy Tail's Phoenix, Sado? Or am I the Fire Devil who has killed nine hundred ninety nine million nine hundred ninety nine thousand nine hundred eighty two people? Am I a monster? Do I even deserve to live after killing so many innocent people? Tell me!"

Makarov watched him in silence for a time before sighing. "You are exactly what you have been since the time that I met you. You're a treasured member of Fairy Tail. You're my child. And while it's true that you've done horrible things in the past, you don't deserve to be killed for it. Quite the opposite. You must survive so that you can make things right. You must do all you can to atone for your sins."

"How?" Sado asked.

"By protecting the innocent," Makarov said. "You spent hundreds of years slaughtering the innocent. Now, you must spend whatever life you have, whether it is as mortal as it has seemed, or as immortal as it was before, protecting them."

Sado nodded, smiling slightly. "Thank you, father."

Makarov's face split into a smile as he rested a hand on Sado's shoulder. "Whatever you've done, and whatever you do, you will always be as much my family as the day I took you in. I may not actually be your father, but you _are_ a son to me."

Sado nodded, smiling, before standing. "I'd better go make sure no one breaks anything during the party that I'm sure they're having by now."

"Indeed," Makarov nodded. "And Sado."

"Hm?"

"Congratulations on finally gaining control over your powers," Makarov said.

"I hope you don't forget that suppressor spell," Sado said. "There's no telling if I'll ever go out of control again, or if my old personality will resurface with my memories."

"That's true," Makarov nodded. "If it ever does, we'll figure out a way for you to rid yourself of it."

Sado nodded and walked out of the room, walking into the guild hall to find a party in full swing. He walked to the bar and Kinana handed him a ham and cheese sandwich. He stared at it for several seconds, already knowing how it would work out if he tried to eat it. Kinana held out a bottle of water too and he accepted it, taking a drink before looking to the side to where Natsu was arguing with Gray.

"Hey Natsu," Sado said, holding out the sandwich. "Heat this up for me, will you?"

Natsu tossed a small fireball to the sandwich, igniting it, and Sado took a bite, feeling his stomach roll as the sandwich entered his mouth, but not reject it thanks to the fire. Once he had finished, he took a swig of water, helping to settle his stomach slightly, before he turned his stool around, finding Mira walking toward him, his three wolves walking with her.

"I love these guys," Mira smiled. "Can we keep them?"

"That was the plan," Sado smiled. "I'm thinking of getting a dragon next."

Mira laughed and nodded. "So, what are we doing for the rest of the day?"

"Watching the guild party and get wasted, then sleeping for about another week," Sado said. "I'm still tired from fighting Zancrow."

"Only that fight huh?" Mira asked, eyes narrowing.

"I'm not apologizing for fighting Acnologia," Sado said.

"And I'm not apologizing for helping," Mira said.

Sado smiled, taking her hands and pulling her down for a kiss, hearing the guild cheer as he did and flipping them off. After a moment, he released Mira and she sat beside him, leaning on his shoulder as they settled in to watch the party.

* * *

Leave a review.


	45. Chapter 45

I do not own any of the original Fairy Tail characters.

* * *

Making Up For Lost Time

Sado watched as Lisanna slung Natsu around and around, Erza sent guy after guy spinning away from her with her overly aggressive dance, which included reversed roles, and Jet and Droy pouted over Gajeel stealing Levy to dance with. He had to admit, Gajeel was pretty good, and pretty smooth at making it seem like he wasn't really developing an Acnologia-sized crush on Levy. Finally, Sado sighed.

"Mira, we have to stop this before it gets worse," Sado said.

"I know," Mira smiled. "It's just so much fun to watch."

"I'll try to fix Erza," Sado said. "Hopefully she doesn't break me. You see if you can fix Natsu and Gray."

"Gray's not bad," Mira said.

Sado looked around, grinning as he spotted Gray doing fairly well with Juvia.

"That's one of the few things I've managed to beat into his skull since you saved me," Ur said, walking over. "Now, Natsu on the other hand, is in desperate need of professional help."

Sado snorted in amusement as Lisanna turned and Natsu practically fell over. "I'll deal with Erza. Mira, see what you can do about Natsu."

"What about Lucy?" Ur asked.

"Either you can teach her, or I will if I can fix Erza," Sado said.

Ur laughed and nodded. "I'll help her."

Sado nodded, sighing and walking over to Erza, who was somehow spinning Elfman horizontally as Elfman was hovering in the air before her. "Erza, put the poor man down. That's not how you dance."

Erza glared at him but set Elfman on his feet, allowing him to stagger away, barely able to stay on his feet. Sado held his hands out to Erza, who reached out to take it.

"If you try to take the lead in this, Erza, I _will_ fight you," Sado said. "And I'm not going to hold back."

Erza swallowed hard and nodded, taking his hands. He stepped forward, placing one of her hands on his shoulder and then his on her waist, beginning to guide her. He could tell she wanted to take the lead, but after a few minutes of him guiding her, she began to fall into a natural rhythm, picking it up fairly quickly. Finally, Sado stepped away, smiling.

"Much better," Sado said. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go laugh at Natsu."

He walked over to Natsu and Mira, watching as Natsu stepped on Mira's toes for the millionth time, apologizing.

"Natsu, you're terrible," Sado said. "However, you _are_ doing better than earlier, so I suppose that's an improvement."

"Shut up Sado!" Natsu grumbled. "I'm just having trouble with the footwork."

"I've noticed," Sado said. "You're trying to do the steps backward. Just follow my cues, okay?"

Natsu nodded.

"Right, left, right, left, right, left, slow spin, right, left, right, left, spin the other way, right left," Sado watched as Natsu began to slowly get it down.

Finally, Sado stopped giving Natsu instructions and Natsu continued dancing, managing to keep from stepping on Mira's toes anymore.

"Good," Sado said. "Now, I'm cutting in, so go and save Lucy from Ur."

Natsu nodded, stepping away from Mira and thanking the two of them for their help before walking toward Lucy and Ur. Sado took Mira's hand, resting his other on her hip as they began to dance, Mira smiling.

"It feels like forever ago since the wedding," Mira smiled.

"Yes it does," Sado said. "Things were so much easier back then."

"They sure didn't seem it," Mira laughed. "Laxus, your anger...my mistakes."

"Hey," he said, lifting her head up from the ground so she was looking up at him. "That doesn't matter anymore, remember? We're together now, so it doesn't matter what happened in the past."

Mira smiled and nodded. They continued to dance for several hours before Natsu, Lucy, Gray, Erza, Wendy, and Warren left to get ready, the others all deciding to call it a day. They all went their separate ways, all heading home for the night. Once at Mira's house, Sado and Mira began to cook, Sado getting an apple and slowly getting his stomach adjusted back to normal, non-flaming food as they did. By the time dinner was ready, Elfman and Lisanna had set the table and Sado's stomach was back to normal. They all took a moment to pray before eating, then dug in. As always, Mira's cooking was excellent. However, the meal was unusually quiet.

"Alright," Sado sighed finally. "What's wrong?"

"Just...starting to really feel the lost time," Lisanna said.

"I see," Sado said. "Yeah. I can understand why. You've got a boyfriend, then you go to a parallel universe for a while. Then when you come back, you find out he's dating someone else. That'd be terrible."

Lisanna stared at the table in silence for a long while. "He's happy. So, it's enough for me. I'll be okay. And I'm really happy for them. For now, that's good enough."

"I see," Sado nodded. "Okay then. Elfman, would you care to brighten the mood, or should I make the announcement for you?"

"W-What?" Elfman said. "What are you talking about?"

"Elfman?" Mira said, staring at him curiously. "Is there something we should know?"

"That's what I want to know!" Elfman said.

"You mean you don't even know?" Sado smirked. "I could have sworn by the amount of flirting she was doing that the two of you were already together."

Both girls looked back and forth between the pair as Elfman's face contorted in a mixture of embarrassment and confusion.

"Who are you talking about?" Elfman asked.

"Evergreen," Sado said. "You didn't notice?"

Mira's eyes suddenly shone with understanding as she realized what Sado was doing and she grinned wickedly. "Oh that's what this is about. Yeah I noticed that too. Is there anything we should know Elfman?"

"N-No!" Elfman said. "W-We're only...w-we were just partners for the trial! That's it, I swear!"

"If you say so," Mira shrugged. "I think she might be pretty disappointed about that though. She really seems to like you."

Elfman's face flushed bright red and everyone began to laugh, continuing to taunt him for another few minutes before finally letting up. By then, dinner was finished and everyone was in a much better mood. They all excused themselves, Lisanna and Elfman heading to bed, and Sado and Mira cleaning up.

"I give it three hours tomorrow morning before she calls him out on it," Sado said.

"I'll give it four," Mira said.

Sado grinned and they shook hands. Once the last of the dishes were cleaned and put away, they walked to their bedroom and Sado closed and locked the door just as Mira's arms wrapped around him, Sado feeling her bare breasts pressing against his back.

"Someone's impatient," Sado said.

"Well, dancing today reminded me of the first time," Mira said as Sado turned to her, allowing her to pull his shirt over his head and drop it before kissing her. "And besides that, we have seven years to make up for."

Sado smiled, kissing her again as he walked toward the bed, Mira walking backward in front of him. Once they reached the bed, Sado reached down, cupping Mira's behind and lifting her up onto the bed, Mira beginning to grind her snatch against his manhood through his pants, Sado groaning. He grinned, massaging her rear with one hand and her breast with the other, Mira moaning and grinding harder. After a moment, her hands reached down, somehow getting his pants to fall to the floor without having lost any friction. Sado groaned as her slick womanhood began to slide along his shaft, lubricating it rapidly.

"You've been waiting to get me alone all day haven't you?" Sado asked.

"All week," Mira said. "You were just too tired."

"Barring comatose, I'm never too tired for you," Sado smirked, beginning to kiss his way down her neck, earning several moans before reaching her chest.

She arched her back as he took a nipple into his mouth, Sado suckling it as his fingers massaged her other breast, tweaking her nipple lightly as he did. Mira His free hand reached down to her slit, replacing his erection and slipping two fingers into her almost instantly. Mira bit down on her finger to keep from crying out in pleasure as he fingered her, his thumb tracing circles over her clit. After a couple of moments, he switched to the other breast for a couple of minutes before gently pushing Mira onto her back, continuing downward. When he reached her slit, he began to gently lick and suckle on her clit, crossing his fingers inside of her and making her gasp then moan loudly, bucking her hips against him. He grinned, speeding up as Mira pressed a pillow to her face to muffle herself, the pillow not doing as much as she thought it was. After several moments, he moved up, taking the pillow and kissing her, effectively silencing her.

"You're too loud," Sado said between kisses. "Your family's going to hear."

"Let them," Mira panted, kissing him again.

Sado smiled as he felt her bite down on his lip before trailing her tongue across it as she sucked on it, hard. He groaned, feeling himself twitch in response as she repeated it before letting his lip slip from between her teeth. He grinned, catching her lip between his teeth and returning the gesture, Mira's hips bucking as he did, a louder moan escaping. After a moment, he released her lip and kissed her again, feeling her desperation for release in the urgency of her returned kiss. He grinned as he kissed his way down her body again, Mira covering her mouth with both hands. He began to tend to her clit with his tongue again, switching his hands, again twisting his fingers together. Mira moaned appreciatively as he moved his hand faster than before. Then, he moved his other hand down to Mira's asshole, pushing both fingers in and making her cry out in a mixture of surprise, pain, and pleasure as he began to finger both holes.

Mira's legs reached down over Sado's shoulders, her ankles crossing in an attempt to hold him in place. Sado grinned and sped up even more, Mira's body arching off the ground before beginning to spasm as she screamed into her hands, both holes clenching around his fingers. He continued to finger her as she rode out her orgasm but after a few moments, he slowed to a stop, pulling his fingers out and allowing her to come down from her orgasm, hearing her panting hard. He smiled, moving up and kissing her. After a couple seconds, she rolled them over, biting and then sucking on his lip again, making him groan loudly before she sat up, lining up his member with her now dripping entrance.

She lowered herself onto him, tilting her head back and moaning as he entered her, then began to raise and lower her hips quickly, repeatedly impaling herself on him, her hips making a slapping sound as they hit his. He thrust back up into her in time with her movements, his hands holding hers in front of her so she could use his arms for support, their fingers laced. After a couple of minutes of this, Sado rolled them over, again, beginning to thrust into her harder and faster than before, silencing her cries of pleasure with a kiss. Sado reached one hand down, tracing quick circles around her clit, Mira's hips bucking and rocking against him as he did.

After a few more minutes, Mira pushed him back a step, slipping off of him and rolling over onto all fours, raising her hips and shoving her face into a pillow. A moment later, Sado was shoving himself into her again. This time, he pushed two fingers into her ass again, Mira screaming into the pillow as her insides suddenly clenched around him, Sado gritting his teeth and forcing himself to hold out. Her hips slammed back against him in quick jerky thrusts as she rode out her orgasm. Then, finally, Sado couldn't hold his own back any longer and groaned as he finished, burying himself deep inside of her as his seed flooded out into her, Mira moaning loudly again. After a few seconds, Sado pulled out and lay down, pulling Mira over to him, wrapping his arms around her and kissing her.

She kissed him back, once again biting and sucking his lip, getting him fully hard again in seconds before wrapping her hand around it stroking it slowly, making sure he was fully hard. Then, she sat up, straddling him again as she used what semen she had stroked out of him to lubricate his member. Then, before Sado could say anything, she lowered herself onto him, this time with his member sinking into her other hole, Mira's face contorting in pain as his member forced its way inside. She kept a hand over his mouth so that he couldn't protest, and after a few seconds, he was fully seated inside of her, Mira taking a few moments to adjust. Sado swallowed hard, struggling not to begin moving. Finally, she began to lift up and then slide back down slowly, still adjusting.

Sado gripped the sheets, clenching every muscle in his body and locking his joints, trembling with the effort to not thrust. Finally, she began to bounce on his member again, beginning to pant as she did. Sado finally began to thrust up into her, Mira crying out in pleasure as he did. He reached up to her chest, massaging her breasts and she arched her back, bouncing faster, her hips connecting harder with his. All too soon, Sado felt his end approaching and tipped his head back, groaning and forcing it back, hands dropping back to the bed as he fought it back. He looked back up at Mira just as her head tilted back and she moaned loudly, one hand groping her breast roughly and the other working her slit, three fingers plunging in and out of her entrance rapidly as her thumb worked circles over her own clit. Sado felt his will snap at the sight, but just as he rammed himself as deep as he could, he felt her asshole clench as she came too, her juices squirting out of her slit. He sat up instantly, kissing her less than a second before she screamed in orgasmic bliss and just as his semen flooded her ass, making her hips jerk against him, her body silently begging for more.

After a couple of seconds, Mira suddenly lifted up then dropped, Sado's member shoving its way into her snatch again, Mira instantly starting to bounce on it, screaming into Sado's mouth as she did. Sado rolled them over, ramming himself into her as hard and fast as he could again, Mira's hips jerking back against his frantically. He pulled back from the kiss, allowing Mira's cries of pleasure to go unhindered as he began to gasp for breath, the over-sensitivity of his member robbing him of his ability to breathe properly. He knew he'd be lucky to last a few minutes this time, but he didn't mind. Mira was clearly feeling it just as much as him, if not more, if she was being that loud with Lisanna and Elfman in the house. Usually they tried to stay quiet when the other two were home.

Finally, Sado buried himself inside of her as he flooded her insides with semen yet again, the excess flooding out of Mira rapidly as her insides spasmed around his member, milking it dry. He thrust a couple more times, making sure he was empty before his member began to shrink, slipping out of her quickly. Sado collapsed on the bed beside her, Mira rolling over to lay on his chest, both panting for breath.

"I think...they heard," Sado panted.

"Oops," Mira said between breaths. "Oh...oh well."

Sado snorted in amusement before pulling the blankets out from under himself then up over them, wrapping his arms around Mira. She snuggled into his embrace, their breathing finally starting to level out. Then, Mira drifted off to sleep. Sado smiled, gently running a hand through her hair. He didn't want to sleep. Didn't want to face the dreams. He wanted to just stay in this moment for ever. But after a few more minutes of fighting it, he finally drifted off as well, memories playing through his dreams as nightmares.

* * *

Leave a review. _**A.N.:I need suggestions for who to pair Ur with. I've been wracking my brain but can't think of anyone. It can be male or female, I don't really care which. Just as long as they're roughly the same age so mid to late twenties, give or take. Thanks in advance for your help.**_


	46. Chapter 46

I do not own any of the original Fairy Tail characters.

* * *

Decision

Sado stared at the object in silence. It was ancient. It also looked like the hand of a clock, complete with an attached gear at the end that would be the center. It was gold and dark brown, and it had an ancient magic emanating from it that was sending chills up Sado's spine.

"Something's wrong with that thing," Sado said.

"Have you seen it somewhere before?" Mira asked.

"No," Sado said. "I don't think so. But there's something...I don't know...wrong about the magic I can sense coming from it."

Mira nodded slowly as Lucy put the object back in the case it had come in, closing the case. The girl that had delivered it, Michelle Lobster, claimed to be Lucy's cousin or something, sent to bring the object to Lucy by her father. However, something just felt off about the girl.

"I'm going to go show Michelle my apartment," Lucy said. "See you all later."

Everyone said their goodbyes and Sado hummed thoughtfully as the two walked away.

"I'm sure you're just over-thinking it," Mira smiled. "I'm sure everything's fine."

"Maybe," Sado said.

"I think I know something that'll get your mind off of it," Mira said, leaning in to whisper in his ear. "Look to your left."

Sado turned and saw a crimson-faced Elfman trying to explain that he wasn't hiding anything and that he wasn't embarrassed at all to an extremely suspicious Evergreen. Sado snorted in amusement and covered his mouth to stifle his laughter, turning back around. He sighed. "You're probably right. It's probably nothing."

Mira smiled and nodded. "Good. Now, it's almost time for training."

"Oh boy," Sado sighed. "I think you might need to go up one for me to be able to test my limits."

"Oh ye of little faith," Mira smiled. "Besides, I'm not allowed to go up one, remember?"

"Still," Sado said. "Oh nevermind. I'll work on control instead."

Mira smiled and kissed him for a moment before standing and walking toward the door. "We could always take a job instead."

"I'd love to, except that the only job on the board right now is to escort those fat rich fucks whose wedding we ruined on their twenty sixth honeymoon," Sado said.

"Yeah, I think we'll pass on that," Mira said. "That's one headache I don't need."

"Only the one?" Sado snorted. "I had one for every day we were stuck there."

"Mine didn't end," Mira said as they reached Magnolia's main gate. "So I win. Now, shall we begin? Let's start with a race."

"What, the Twenty Four Hour race wasn't enough for you?" Sado smirked.

"That was before you had control," Mira said, shifting to her She Devil form. "And before you could fly."

Sado smirked, forming his devil traits and extending his own wings. Then, the pair blasted off, streaking through the air as a pair of blurs, Sado chasing Mira, who was able to just barely keep out of his path. Finally, he caught her leg, pulling her back into a hug and lowering himself to the ground with her. As they landed, Sado let his flames fade, stepping back and turning, finding Lahar standing a short distance from him, a small army of Rune Knights behind him.

"Lahar," Sado said.

"Sado," Lahar said. "I don't want to have this go badly for anyone."

"Walk away," Sado said. "I'm not coming quietly."

"What's going on?" Mira asked.

"The council's chairman has ordered that Sado be apprehended at once," Lahar said. "He is a demon responsible for millions of deaths over the last four centuries."

"Eighteen away from a full billion," Sado said. "As I said, I'm not coming quietly."

"And I'm not letting you take him," Mira said. "If you want Sado, you'll have to go through me."

"As I said, I don't want this to go poorly for anyone," Lahar said.

"If I come quietly, I'll be executed the moment I reach my trial," Sado said. "If I don't come quietly, I'll have more deaths on my hands, and I'll be hunted for life anyway. If you try to take me by force, you all die. The only way this doesn't end poorly is for you to walk away."

"You know I can't do that," Lahar said. "All evil must be punished."

"If you take even one step forward, I'm not holding back," Sado said. "Self defense is not a crime, and if you mean to take me in, it will have to be as a corpse."

Lahar watched Sado in silence for a long while before looking around at his men, all of whom remained silent, though their faces betrayed their terror.

"Which would be worse a sin?" Sado asked. "Refusing to follow an order, or leading your one hundred ten men to their deaths because you were too stubborn to know when to stand down?"

Lahar sighed. "We can't defeat you. I have to ask one last time if you will stand down."

"And so I will refuse one last time," Sado said. "Leave, or I will slaughter all of you."

Lahar watched him in silence for a long time. "If Fairy Tail continues to harbor you, the council will disband and arrest them all."

"We'll see," Sado said. "But the council should be smart enough to know that if they come after my family, it will bear the same consequences as coming after me. I'll burn them to a crisp just as fast as I'll burn you."

Lahar nodded once and turned to his men. "All of you go home to your families. No one is dying today."

No one had to be told twice. It was practically a stampede to get away from Sado. Lahar watched them go before glancing back at Sado and beginning to follow at a fast walk. Sado watched them go for several minutes before turning back to Mira.

"I've brought ruin to Fairy Tail," Sado said.

"No," Mira said. "You haven't. Whether the council likes it or not, you're our family. And they can't do anything about it."

Sado smiled and nodded. "Okay. Looks like training's over. Let's go. We need to warn Makarov."

Mira nodded and they both extended their wings, flying back to the guild hall and landing in front of Makarov, who was enjoying the weather. Makarov sighed as he turned to them.

"Was it the council?" Makarov asked.

"It was," Sado said. "Lahar saw reason and refused to arrest me, since he knew I'd kill them all. The council will punish Fairy Tail for this. We'll be declared as a Dark Guild."

"No," Makarov said. "We'll be fine. I promise you. No one will be able to hurt our family."

Sado hesitated but nodded.

"No, how about the two of you help us with the rebuilding, hm?" Makarov asked. "We're about ready to get started on restoring our old guild hall."

"Absolutely," Sado smiled. "Master, maybe...maybe I should start my own guild. I could operate out of this guild hall once you all move out, and I could work with Fairy Tail on everything. Not much would change. Except in title. And Fairy Tail would be untouchable legally. You could say you banished me."

Makarov was silent for a long while before turning to him. "I will not banish my children for defending themselves, or this guild. Now, go and get to work, my boy. We can discuss our next course of action when you get back."

Sado nodded and he and Mira left, heading for the old guild hall with the others.

* * *

Leave a review.

 ** _A.N.: I STILL NEED SUGGESTIONS FOR UR. LITERALLY ANYONE. MALE. FEMALE. ONLY RESTRICTION IS THAT THEY NEED TO BE ABOUT HER AGE._**


	47. Chapter 47

I do not own any of the original Fairy Tail characters.

* * *

Bad News

Sado stared at the letter in silence. It was short, simple, to the point. If he didn't leave Fairy Tail within the next two days, The magic council would declare Fairy Tail a Dark Guild. Then, a coalition of guilds would be sent to destroy them.

"They won't," Mira said. "It's a bluff. If nothing else, Blue Pegasus and Lamia Scale would help us."

"It doesn't matter," Sado said. "The rest of the guilds would fight us, and they'd tear us apart. I won't bring that down on Fairy Tail. Besides, there's a bright side to this."

"What's that?" Mira asked.

"They never said anything about turning myself in," Sado said. "I'll just start a partner guild to Fairy Tail."

"Alright," Mira nodded, smiling. "What are we going to call our new guild? Phoenix Wing?"

Sado smiled, glad she was instantly willing to go with him, even though he'd never have asked. "Well, since we're the only members, I think there might be a more fitting one. Devil's Claw."

Mira smiled widely and nodded. "I like it. Once we're done restorations on our old Fairy Tail Guild Hall, we can have the one on the edge of town."

Sado nodded, smiling. "That's the plan."

"What's the plan?" Makarov asked, walking over behind them before looking up at the Guild Hall. "My, you kids sure do work fast. It looks like it'll be inhabitable by the end of today."

"It will," Sado nodded. "But there's something you need to know."

Makarov turned to him as Sado held out the letter. He took it, reading through it quickly before rage blossomed on his face and he crushed the letter in his hand. "They dare to threaten my family!?"

"You don't need to worry," Sado said. "Mira and I have already decided on a course of action. They never said I couldn't form my own guild. Once you all move into this Guild Hall again, I'm going to move into the other one and start my own guild. Devil's Claw. It'll be a partner guild to Fairy Tail."

"And I'm going with him," Mira said. "Someone has to keep him out of trouble."

Sado looked at her and rolled his eyes, before turning back to Makarov, who sighed.

"I'll be talking to the council about this," Makarov said. "However, in the mean time, as much as I hate to admit it, perhaps that would be the best course of action. However, we have no guarentee that the council won't move against you or against Fairy Tail once you have."

"I know," Sado nodded. "But until they do, this is the best choice."

Makarov sighed and nodded. "Alright. I'll go and get the paperwork ready. I assume you'll be the Guild Master?"

"We're both going to be," Sado said, Mira looking at him curiously. "I'm not in charge of Mira, and I know she'll refuse the position if I'm the only other person in the guild."

Makarov nodded, smiling sadly. "Okay. I'll bring it to you to sign later today. Along with the title for your guild hall."

Sado nodded and Makarov walked away, Mira and Sado returning to work.

* * *

Sado stepped back and looked up at his work with pride. The guild hall was still in rough shape, but the "FAIRY TAIL" that had decorated the arch in front was now replaced with "DEVIL'S CLAW" spelled out in bright orange lettering. The guild's crest, a disconnected set of devil horns, bat-like wings, and a devil's tail, were proudly displayed on the front of the building in red. Sado and Mira, on the other hand, had both kept their Fairy Tail crests as proof of their true loyalty, Sado getting his new guild's crest on his right shoulder, where his Fairy Tail crest as on his left, and Mira getting it on her back. The horns were on either side of the base of her neck, the wings on her shoulder blades where her actual wings came from, and the tail as a sort of tramp stamp.

"You did well," Mira smiled, wrapping her arms around his shoulders from behind. "It looks excellent."

In addition to adding the crest and name, he had also repainted the entire guild hall to look like it was on fire. Quite impressive considering he couldn't draw worth a shit. He turned around in her arms, kissing her as his hands rested on the small of her back, pulling her tight against himself. After several seconds, however, he pulled back as Gray cleared his throat.

"What?" Sado asked.

"Congratulations," Gray said. "This just arrived at our guild hall for you."

Sado walked over, taking the letter and openning it, grinning widely.

"What?" Mira asked.

"We've been cleared by the council to be a guild," Sado said. "They say they won't try to arrest me again, claiming to want to avoid unnecessary collateral damage, but warn that if I step out of line they will. They also say tht I have to keep my identity secret, so that I don't cause a panic."

"They're smart," Mira said. "I think we should recruit."

"We'd need to find people that don't mind reputations as devils," Sado said.

"True," Mira nodded. "Oh well. We'll figure something out. For now, let's go and visit our friends."

"Happily," Sado smiled.

They walked away from their guild hall, Gray walking with them as they headed back to Fairy Tail's guild hall, stepping inside to find a brawl going on, Lucy standing off to one side with Michelle. They walked to the bar where Cana, Wendy, Romeo, and Makarov were watching the brawl. Even without many members, Fairy Tail never failed to make a mess.

"I'm not fixing anything they break," Sado said.

"Welcome back Sado," Makarov said. "All done with your guild hall?"

"For now," Sado said. "We'll fix it up more eventually, but for now we're taking a break. Besides, all the job requests are here."

Makarov chuckled and looked to the board before sighing. "Only one right now."

Sado looked at the board and groaned. It was the escort mission for the rich couple's honeymoon. Mira groaned as well when she saw it.

"We could use the money," Sado sighed.

"I know," Mira sighed. "Shit. I hate those two."

"Maybe we'll get lucky and I'll get a reason to torch them this time," Sado said.

"Maybe they'll get lost on their vacation and we can 'accidentally' leave them there," Mira said. "Anyway, we'll pack and leave tonight."

"Alright," Sado sighed. "We're going to regret this."

"Definitely," Mira nodded.

Both of them got a drink, Sado sipping his slowly as Mira took a swig from hers. The brawl eventually wound down and everyone returned to drinking and enjoying each other's company. Sado sighed, looking around just in time to catch Romeo glancing at Wendy out of the corner of his eye while Wendy was distracted by a conversation with Carla. Sado snorted, ending up spraying beer out his nose as he was taking a drink as he laughed. Mira looked at him curiously as he grabbed a napkin and blew his nose, wiping the beer off of his face.

"What's up?" Mira asked.

Sado leaned in, grinning. "I think _someone_ might have a crush on Wendy."

Mira glanced at Romeo, also catching him stealing a glance at Wendy and giggled. "You're right."

Sado grinned, turning back to the room just as one of his wolves walked through the doors, walking over to them and sitting down. "What's up?"

The wolf whined and Sado looked out the door again.

"What is it?" Mira asked.

"Rune Knights," Sado said. "I've had my wolves watching for them." He looked back at the wolf. "Show me."

The wolf yipped once before turning and running out the door, Mira and Sado following, Team Natsu following soon after. After a couple of minutes, they slowed to a stop at the edge of Magnolia to find a force of one person waiting. Lahar.

"Lahar," Sado said. "How can I help you?"

"We're not here for trouble," Lahar said. "There's something you should know."

"What's that?" Sado asked.

"The Council's private library was raided last night," Lahar said. "All of the books about devils and Lost Magics were taken. This is the only book we could find." He held out a thick leather-bound book with a black cover but no cover.

Sado accepted it, turning it over in his hands but finding the spine just as blank as the cover. On the back, however, was a symbol that Sado could swear he knew. It looked sort of like a "V" with a line across the middle and bowed downward with curved, almost flame-like ends.

"What is this?" Sado asked.

"It's a complete list and description of every demon known to mankind," Lahar said. "As well as their last known location."

Sado opened it, leafing through the pages, not really reading it so much as seeing if he recognized any of the faces. "Why does the council have this?"

"They didn't," Lahar said. "That book doesn't belong to the council. It was left behind during the theft, whether on accident or intentionally, we don't know."

Sado stopped suddenly, staring at a picture of a stone statue of a human with a pair of horns and glowing red eyes. The reason he stopped was the red "X" drawn across the picture. He turned the page. Another devil. Another "X". He stared up at Lahar, who nodded.

Sado began to flip through the rest of the book. More crossed out pictures. Not all of the rest of the book, maybe twenty in total. "Someone's hunting devil?"

"Go to page one hundred seventeen," Lahar said. "You must have missed it."

Sado flipped through the pages before freezing. He checked the page number and understood. It was him. It was a sketch of him, fire devil features in place and a spiraling vortex of white flames around him. He checked the information.

"Name: Unknown. Age: Four hundred two. Kills: Nine hundred ninety nine million nine hundred ninety nine thousand nine hundred eight two. Last known location: Magnolia. Known associates: Mirajane Strauss(lover), Lisanna Strauss(friend), Elfman Strauss(friend), Makarov(father figure), Natsu(friend/former rival[improvement]), Lucy(friend), Gray(friend), Ur(former master)..."

The book went on to list all of Sado's current friends, former friends, and even the owners of the stores he went to most frequently, like the jeweler that made Mira's necklaces. Sado's eyes returned to Natsu's classification.

"What does it mean 'improvement?'" Sado asked.

"You mean after Natsu's name?" Lahar asked. "We don't know. We also don't know how it's so up to date."

You think the devil hunter is someone close to me?" Sado asked.

"Your information is the most detailed out of any of the entries," Lahar said. "If they're not someone in your inner circle, they're amazing at gathering intelligence on their target, and you're the next picture they want to cross out."

"I see," Sado said. "Well, if that's the case, they're going to be in for a hell of a fight."

Lahar took the book, flipping to an ice devil who was crossed out and held up the book. "This devil slaughtered almost as many people as you. Last week, we found a section of ocean that had frozen into a massive landscape the size of Galuna Island. Lying in the center of that island was this demon. There were obvious signs of a fight, and the island was clearly missing entire chunks. But this demon was dead."

"That's Freeze," Sado said. "Or, at least, that's what the idiot used to call himself. He and I used to fight every once in a while. He's not as powerful as you think. It's just hard to get close to him if you're made of fire because he can freeze fire with the snap of his fingers."

"So anyone else getting close would be hard too," Lahar said.

"Not exactly," Sado said. "When I say he could freeze fire, I mean that fire was his specialty. Anything else he wants to freeze he would have to freeze the same way I burn things. He shoots ice magic out of his palms the same way I do flames."

"I see," Lahar nodded. "And this one?" He flipped to a stone devil with a fat figure, spikes on his back, and his horns replaced by spikes covering his head where a human would have air.

"Bort," Sado said. "Fat, lazy, decent striking power but no speed. pretty rugged though. He could take a hell of a beating before going down."

"And this?" Lahar asked, turning to another.

This one was different. The picture was crossed out but all the picture was was a silhouette in the middle of black smoke with glowing red eyes. Sado's mouth pulled into a tight line seeing the picture marked out.

"That's Shade," Sado said. "He's made of darkness, and he doesn't have to solidify in order to fight like most darkness-magic users. Even the old shadow dragons and such that used to fight similarly to him had to solidify to attack. But Shade didn't. Alright. I'll admit, if he's dead the devil hunters will have to be pretty skilled. This might be a problem after all."

"I know," Lahar said. "Our best guess is that all of the devils were killed by Devil Slayer Magic. And since one of the books stolen outlines all of the Devil Slayer Magics in extensive detail, you can imagine where that would be a problem."

"Yes, yes I can," Sado said. "Do we know how many there are? Or what types they have?"

"No," Lahar said. "At a guess, the theft would have had to be a minimum of three. But then again, any two Oracion Seis members would have been more than capable, and a single Grimoire Heart member could have. So my personal opinion is that we have no idea. It could also have been a mercenary that delivered it to someone else."

Sado sighed, nodding. "That's true. Thank you for the warning. I'll make sure I don't drag Magnolia into anything."

Lahar nodded and turned, walking away. Sado sighed, patting his wolf on the head as he and Mira walked back to the Fairy Tail guild hall.

* * *

Leave a review.

 ** _A.N.: Still looking for ideas to pair Ur with. In this story, she's physically around 25. Any suggestions, male or female, would be appreciated. Also, any for Lisanna would be appreciated as well._**


	48. Chapter 48

I do not own any of the original Fairy Tail characters.

* * *

Our Rules

Sado leaned against the wall as he and Mira watched the fat couple fume over the identity of their possible protection. Finally, he had let them stew long enough.

"Well, I suppose since we're here anyway, we should discuss the terms of this job," Sado said.

"The terms were stated on the flier," the man said.

"Well, since we know you, and we know how awful it is to work for you, we're changing them," Sado said. "Firstly, we're not doing it for three million. If you want us guarding you, we're doing it for twenty million. Upfront, in cash."

The man's face flushed bright red with rage. "Now wait just a-"

"Secondly, we have a set of rules this time," Sado interrupted. "If you follow them, you'll have our protection. Break them, and we abandon you immediately, no second chances."

"What rules?" the man snarled through gritted teeth.

"Firstly, if either of you so much as look at Mirajane for more than two seconds, I gouge out your eyes, then we leave," Sado said. "Secondly, if either of you tries to hire Mirajane or myself for prostitution or any other illegal act, I'll castrate you and cauterize your junk closed. Thirdly, since we've worked with you before, we know how awful you two are, and how awful it is to be around you. Therefor, for the duration of this mission, you'll have our protection, but we won't be spending it following you around like pets on a leash like we did last time. If you have a problem with that, let us know now, and we'll walk away and send a different team your way."

The man and woman both were fuming, but after several seconds, the man nodded stiffly. "Okay. Twenty million. And we agree to your rules."

"Excellent," Sado said. "Then let's see that money so we can all pretend to enjoy ourselves."

The man snarled angrily but walked into the bank across the road, coming back with a briefcase filled with money. Mira smiled, walking into the same bank with it and depositing it into her account. Ten minutes later, they were on a train bound for Hargeon, anda few hours later, they were watching Hargeon shrink into the distance as their cruise ship pulled away.

"Can we expect to see you at all during this trip?" The man asked.

"Most likely," Sado said as he,the man, and the wife all stood on the upper deck, waiting for Mira to finish changing. "Feel free to associate, if you can be civil, and decent people during it. Otherwise it's probably best to act like you don't know us."

Just then, the door to Sado and Mira's cabin swung open, and he smiled as she stepped out wearing a bikini that matched her hair color, also smiling. Sado glanced at their clients to see them looking anywhere but at Mira. He smiled. They were learning.

"Hello Beautiful," Sado smiled, wrapping his arms around her and capturing her lips briefly.

"Maybe I should wear this more often," Mira smiled.

"You wouldn't end up wearing it much," Sado smirked. "Now, I want to try out that hot tub we passed earlier."

"Excellent idea," Mira smiled. "See you two around."

They walked away from their clients, walking down to the hot tub on the main deck. The pool was deserted, as most guests were exploring the ship at the moment, so Sado and Mira had the area to themselves as they sat in the hot tub. Mira settled onto Sado's lap, smiling ashis handsrested on the sides of her hips, thumbs tracing small circles on her thighs.

"I almost can't believe we swindled that couple into paying us twenty million just to essentially take a vacation," Mira said. "I almost feel bad."

"I don't," sado snorted. "Not after last time."

Mira sighed and nodded. "True last time was hell, but it _did_ allow us to fix our relationship."

"I suppose you're right," Sado sighed. "Alright. If things go okay, we'll pay them back half of it after."

Mira smiled and nodded, kissing him. He happily returned the kiss, hands moving to the small of her back only for someone to clear their throat. Sado pulled back, looking to the left to see a man with short messy blond hair and a kind smile sitting beside the pool where a young girl, maybe eight at most, was trying to learn to swim.

"I'm sorry, but would you mind not doing that?" The man asked, smiling apologetically. "For my daughter's sake."

"Of course," Mira smiled.

"Thank you," the man smiled.

Mira smiled as she watched the young girl kick her legs, holding onto the side just in case. Sado on the other hand, felt his smile slowly fading as he watched the girl. After a few minutes, Sado slipped out from under Mira and climbed out of the hot tub.

"I gotta use the bathroom," he said, quickly walking away.

As soon as he was in the bathroom, which thankfully was a single person one, he locked the door and plugged the sink drain, filling the sink with water. Then, he shives his head into it and screamed as loud as he could, feeling his back erupt into flames for several seconds as he did. Finally, he pulled his head out of the water, looking behind him to make sure he didn't set anything on fire with his meltdown.

He took a breath before dunking his head again, screaming again, and again venting his flames. He pulled his head back out, using his flames to fix his hair and dry himselc, draining the water before opening the door and walking back to the pool. As he arrived, Mira turned to him and smiled.

"Perfect timing," Mira smiled. "Jack was just inviting us to lunch." She indicated the blond father from before.

"I see," Sado smiled. "Sure. We'd love to."

Jack smiled and nodded. He got his daughter, Hope, out of the pool and she dried herself off, then they all walked to a cafe nearby. The meal was pleasant, with Jack talking about his farm, and about his daughter wanting to be a ballerina one day. Then, they all left, Jack leading them to the shopping center, then to the lower deck where there were a number of sports areas, including magical target practice. The entire time they walked, he was acting a tour guide, giving them made up facts about the ship.

"So, who wants to target practice?" Jack asked.

"Excuse me?" Sado asked.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Jack said. "I forgot to mention didn't I? I'm a wizard. I use light magic. I'm not great with it, but it's pretty useful even when you're not skilled."

"Yeah, Light Magic would be pretty useful," Sado said. "So I take it you know who we are?"

"Of course," Jack smiled. "Mirajane Strauss and her unbelievably lucky boyfriend Sado."

Sado smiled. "Sell, as much as I would love to see how good you are, we're actually on a job, so we're supposed to try not to use our powers except to defend our clients."

"Oh?" Jack said. "I'm sorry. Where are they, though?"

"They wanted to be left alone as much as possible," Sado said. "Right now they're at the bar, unsurprisingly."

Jack nodded. "I see. Well, in that case, how about some badminton?"

"Alright," Sado nodded.

"I'll be the ref," Mira smiled.

"I wanna ref too!" Hope said.

"Of course," Mira smiled. "Come on. We stand over here."

Hope smiled, walking to the side of the net with Mira while Sado and Jack got a pair of rackets and a birdie. Then, they walked onto the court and Sado served. Jack returned it and they passed it back and forth for several minutes before it slipped past Sado's racket and bounced off the floor. Sado flicked it to Jack who served it, and they began again. The game was a lot more fun than Sado expected. And in the end, Jack beat him by a point. Sado sighed, dropping the racket back into its spot as Jack did the same, clapping him on the back.

"That was a good game," Jack smiled. "Come on. I know the perfect place for the two of you to watch the sunset without being interrupted."

Sado smiled and nodded, he and Mira following him, Hope riding on his shoulders. As they walked, Hope squealed with delight, arms out to the side and Jack running zigzags and spirals along the side of the ship. Finally, they reached the upper deck and Jack set Hope on her feet, pointing up at the roof of the section of cruise ship in front of them. Sado sprinted up the wall to the roof and pulled himself up, reaching down as Mira jumped, catching her hand and pulling her up. They both looked out toward the setting sun and smiled. It was a perfect view, and the upper deck was deserted at this time because everyone else was either at the bar, the night club like their clients, or the spa. What few couples were watching the sunset were on the lower deck, which stuck out off the back of the ship.

"It's perfect," Sado smiled down at Jack. "Thank you."

"Of course," Jack smiled. "Enjoy."

Sado sat down, Mira sitting in his lap, and they watched the sunset in silence as Hope and Jack left for their cabin. Mira rested her head on Sado's shoulder, wrapping her arms around him as he held her close to himself.

"He seems really nice," Mira said.

"Yeah he does," Sado agreed. "So far it seems like this is going to be a pretty good mission."

Mira nodded in agreement. "I wonder if we'll see him again during this mission."

"I'm sure we will," Sado smiled. "In the mean time, I finally get to have you all to myself for tonight."

"Cruise ships have really thin walls," Mira said.

"Not my problem," Sado smiled. "If necessary, we'll move rooms tomorrow."

Mira smiled, kissing him before nodding. After a few more minutes, the sun finally sank the rest of the way behind the horizon and Mira and Sado left for their room, finding it in a matter of minutes. As soon as they were in, Sado pushed Mira up against the door, reaching past her to lock it as their tongues dueled, Mira moaning into his mouth as she ground against him.

"You really _were_ excited," Sado said between kisses.

"Ever since the hot tub," Mira responded, Sado making a trail down the side of her neck.

As he neared her bikini top, he quickly untied it and dropped it to the floor, taking one of her nipples into his mouth, Mira moaning loudly as he did, holding his head in place as his right hand slipped into her bikini bottoms, two fingers slipping inside of her. Mira gasped, bucking her hips against his hand only for Sado to stop. Mira blinked twice, looking down at him as he released her nipple, pulling back and staring at the door. Then, in the blink of an eye, the world erupted into movement and heat and sound.

* * *

Leave a review.


	49. Chapter 49

I do not own any of the original Fairy Tail characters.

* * *

Devil Slayers

Sado stared at the door as Mira watched his face in confusion. Then, in the span of time it took her brain to realized he had moved her, she was behind him with her bikini top halfway tied in place and with Sado between her and the door, arms crossed and a fire barrier between himself and the bright blue explosion that was all that remained of the door. The blast sent both crashing through the wall into the next room, both landing hard and remaining there for a moment.

After a moment, Sado pushed himself up slowly, growling in rage as he stared through the hole at the twin blue flames, resting in his attacker's hands and reaching about three feet high. Behind Sado, Mira stood, tying her bikini the rest of the way on and glaring past Sado. In the doorway to their room, stood none other than Jack, blue flames held proudly in his hands as a sadistic smile split his face and the skin on both forearms had turned black.

"Hello again you two, lovely weather isn't it?" Jack asked.

"Get the hell out," Sado snarled, the occupants of the room they were in fleeing instantly. "So, you're the thief. A Fire Devil Slayer, is it?"

"Oh no, you've got the wrong idea about me," Jack smiled. "I'm not the guy that wanted the books. I'm the thief, sure, and I may have taken the time to learn a specific type of magic from it, so, I suppose I am _a_ Fire Devil Slayer, but I'm not _the_ Fire Devil Slayer. My employer is rather, displeased with devils in general, but especially with one in particular. One that burned almost more people to death than Acnologia has killed. However, he's also rather ticked at me for learning one of the magics and, according to him, stealing the knowledge from him. So, he gave me a job to make up for it. Kill you. If I do, he'll let me and my daughter live."

"I see," Sado nodded. "So you know who I am, you know what I am, and you intend to fight me anyway?"

"Fight?" Jack chuckled. "No no. I intend to kill you."

Sado smirked, forming his devil traits. "You have no idea who you're dealing with. You're going to die long before me. You think you're the first devil hunter I've faced?"

"Devil hunter, no," Jack said. "Devil Slayer, yes. My employer knows you well, and they know your history. They said you've never faced a Devil Slayer before."

"Well, then in that case this should be fairly interesting," Sado said.

And with that, Sado shot forward, crashing into Jack and launching them both off of the cruise ship before extending his wings and punching Jack, sending him flying away. Jack flipped, a set of bright blue jets of flame shooting out of his shoulder blades downward and out at an odd angle, like a jet pack. Jack grinned as his blue flames returned, covering his fists.

"Not a bad punch, devil," Jack grinned. "And I'm impressed you cared enough to get us off of the ship first. But now you'll die."

"We'll just see about that," Sado snarled.

Sado punched forward, sending a jet of white-hot flames at Jack, only for Jack to inhale, sucking the flames into his mouth instantly. Sado snarled in annoyance as Jack's flames grew rapidly. Then, Jack formed a massive fireball above himself, hurling it at Sado. Sado brought his hands to his right, clapping them and forming a fireball before swinging his hands forward, the massive fireball transforming into a white-hot jet of flame. The two attacks met and exploded into a massive blue and white fireball in the sky. As soon as they did, Sado shot sideways, inhaling as he passed the explosion. Then, as soon as he spotted Jack, he roared, the flames shooting out of his mouth and at Jack in under a second, only for Jack to spin and open his mouth, inhaling the flames and grinning, blue flames exploding out of his body all over.

"That's a big appetite," Sado smirked. "Still hungry? Try this!"

He shoved both arms forward, sending twin jets of flame shooting at Jack, who began to eat the flames rapidly. As he did, his blue flames began to grow larger and larger and Jack grinned. Sado felt his hands' nerve endings beginning to burn but pushed harder. Then, just as he was about to let the flames end, Jack suddenly shrieked in pain, shooting sideways out of the path of the flames, only for Sado to shoot after him, getting close and peppering him with fireballs. Jack shouted in rage and pain as the explosions covered his body rapidly, burning him, before he spun, flexing his palms and slamming the heels of his palms together. Sado shot flames out of his left side, barely making it far enough for the wall of blue flames suddenly shooting out of Jack's palms to miss. Then, just as Sado's fist crashed into Jack's face, a massive torrent of a thick, hot, red liquid exploded into him, blasting him into the water. Sado surfaced, spiking his flames to clear the water around himself and extended his wings, floating into the air and allowing his devil traits to form again.

"Well well," Sado snarled, watching as Hope floated in the air beside Jack, wings made out of blood extended from her back and flapping slowly and Mira held by the throat in her right hand, Mira already in her She Devil form but barely conscious. "You taught your daughter Blood Devil Slayer Magic. Just when I thought you were doing this for a good reason."

"Oh please," Jack snorted. "I didn't teach my daughter Blood Devil Slayer Magic."

Sado raised an eyebrow, tilting his head to the side and staring at the blood wings. However, just as he did, Hope raised her hand, pointing at him.

"I taught her Blood Devil Slayer Magic _and_ Darkness Devil Slayer Magic," Jack said.

Sado felt his gut drop just before a beam of pure darkness no thicker than Hope's index finger punched a hole through his gut. Sado coughed, blood splattering out of his mouth and over the front of his shirt. He dropped a hand, to the wound, staring at the two Devil Slayers before him. Sado sighed, cracking his neck.

"I really didn't want it to have to come to this," Sado sighed. "I'm honestly not that great at controlling my full power. That's why I've been holding back. However..." He looked pas the Devil Slayers to the cruise ship, which was currently sinking into the water, a small fleet of life boats fleeing from it. "Since you clearly seem to care nothing for innocent lives, and since you've forced my hand this much already, it looks like we have no choice, do we, Mira?"

"None," Mira said, flipping and kicking Hope's hand, freeing herself and flying backward away from the child Devil Slayer, blinding white light enveloping her.

After a moment, the light faded, leaving Mira in a different devil form. This one had sky blue armored boots that turned into scales high on her thighs, scales covering her forearms with clawed fingers, scaled horns reaching up from her head just behind her pointed, scale-covered ears, and wings formed of massive sky blue scales like feathers with a single rounded piece extending from the middle bottom of each wing then curving inward toward Mira. Mira's red clothing had been changed to bathing-suit-like outfit with light and dark blue vertical stripes alternating, her stomach exposed from just above her waist to just below her cleavage, with the top being held together low on her breasts with a vertical, copper, arrow-head-shaped clasp before the bathing suit ended low on her breasts. On her shoulders were a pair of armored pauldrons with the same color scheme as the bathing suit with a spike curling up from each and with an armored collar around her neck.

"What is that, another devil form?" Jack asked.

"That is the Demon God Halphas," Sado said. "Mira, Jack is weaker than Hope. Keep him busy. Once I've finished with Hope, I'll be back to deal with him."

Mira nodded once and raised a hand, a blast of translucent blue and pink energy flashing from it to Jack, exploding against a wall of blue flames and launching Jack away. The second the blast had passed, Sado was flying away from Mira and Jack, Hope streaking after him. Sado counted the distance, and finally flipped, gritting his teeth and he swung his arms back then forward, a massive fireball between his hands and slamming into Hope's face as she reached for him. The explosion hurled him, but he flipped, stopping himself and watching the smoke as it began to thin. As it finished clearing, he stared at Hope, surrounded by a sphere of blood with spots having been burned away by the explosion. She glared at him through a hole.

"Okay," Sado said, slowly flying around to get between Hope and Mira, that way he was facing away. "Now we can get serious. I hope that shield of your is stronger than it looks!"

He inhaled, heating it far beyond what he knew the shield could handle, then roared, the flames shooting out as hot as when he managed to scorch Acnologia's scales. The blast slammed into Hope's shield with all the heat of the sun's surface, blasting straight through the shield, only for Hope to appear from Sado's shadow in the water. Several spears made of blood shot up out of the water at him and Sado flipped, blocking them with super-heated fireballs, the attacks cancelling out. Then, Sado felt his back erupt into pain and spun, forming a flame shield out of instinct and blocking a blood sword on its second swing. She knocked the shield away only for Sado's right fist to expand and crash into her, exploding and blasting her away. She shrieked in pain and bounced off the water once before Sado appeared behind her roaring. This time, the blast hit her square in the back and exploded, Hope shrieking in agony again.

As the smoke began to clear, Sado shot backward, Hope charging him with her body mutated, shadows gathered into claws, feet, and horns like his own. She roared in rage, slashing at him rapidly and he avoided them before ducking under a slash and shooting upward, flames exploding out of his elbow and feet, blasting his fist into her gut hard enough to send her spinning into the air. As she stopped herself, a massive sphere of darkness and blood began to form over her and she shot back downward at him. Sado pulled his hands back behind himself, gritting his teeth and roaring in effort, forming a sphere of flames about the size of Makarov's Fairy Law just before firing it, pushing the heat as high as he could, feeling his arms shake in effort.

 _Hotter!_ Sado thought, the air around him growing distorted from the heat. _Hotter_ _!_

The water below him began to evaporate rapidly, spreading outward rapidly. Finally, he swung his arms forward as the same time as Hope did. Both roared, a blast of darkness and blood blasting into Hope's sphere as Sado sent a blast of flames into his, increasing the heat still further and sending his jet of flames flying at her. The two blasts met and erupted into a massive ball of flames and darkness, the blood being completely incinerated. Then, the sphere began to curl inward on Sado's side as his flames drilled through her blast. Then, Hope's eyes widened less than a second before her blast stopped and her entire body erupted into a pure white fireball.

Sado sighed, slumping forward just as a blue fireball erupted into existence in the distance, Sado instantly seeing Mira falling from the bottom of it. He flew to her, catching her just before the water and she smiled weakly, her body badly burned. Above him, Jack hovered, blood running down his body from numerous gashes and with numerous fresh burns of his own. He was panting for breath, but the moment he saw Sado was alive, rage filled his face.

"YOU SON OF A BITCH! ! !" Jack roared, his blue flames turning pitch black as they erupted from his entire body, shooting high into the sky as horns grew from his head, his jet-pack flames turned into wings, and his fingers flattened into claws like Sado's. "SHE WAS JUST A CHILD! ! ! I'LL TEAR YOU APART FOR KILLING HER! ! !"

"You're right," Sado said as Mira transformed back and Sado formed a hovering platform that he set her on, sending it to one of the life rafts where they helped Mira in and the platform faded. "Hope was just a child. That's why I killed her instead of Mira. Mira's not a true devil like I am. It would have crushed her to have to kill Hope. But if you think your hands are clean in Hope's death, you're completely wrong. You're the one that taught her Devil Slayer Magic. You're the one that brought her after me. You're the one that allowed her to fight me alone. Her death is as much your fault as mine. But I'm not going to argue that with you. I'm just going to kill you. Especially now that you've become a devil yourself."

Jack roared, pitch black flames, darker even than Zancrow's Flame God Slayer Magic, blasting into the water where Sado had been, Sado appearing behind Jack, between him and the survivors of the cruise ship. Then, Sado crouched on top of the water, his wings stretching along his body, merging with his arms and bleaching pure white, growing feathers as his devil traits turned pure white and spread into white flames hugging his entire body.

"Phoenix Flight!" Sado shouted, exploding off of the water at Jack who shoved both hands forward and roared, the three blasts of flame braiding together into a single, massive blast that Sado crashed into almost instantly.

For a moment, he stayed there, fighting against the flames. He shouted in effort and agony as he fought against the stream of flames, his body burning rapidly. Then, his own flames began to heat up rapidly, Jack's flames failing to hold him back a little at a time. Then, Sado doubled the power of the flames shooting out of his feet and blasted through the flames, crashing into Jack with a massive, pure white explosion. Both began to fall but Sado reformed his wings, barely having the strength to, and caught Jack, Jack hanging limply below him.

"Remember my words Jack," Sado said. "You've become a devil yourself. So when you get to hell, tell the boys I said hello."

Then, Jack's body erupted into flames, burning away into ash in seconds. Sado flew himself to the lifeboat where Mira had gone and landed, his flames going out in a shower of sparks as he collapsed beside Mira.

* * *

Leave a review.

 ** _A.N.: I STILL need suggestions for Ur and Lisanna._**


	50. Chapter 50

I do not own any of the original Fairy Tail characters.

* * *

Broken Again

Sado groaned as he struggled to consciousness, looking around slowly and seeing Mira lying beside him, burned worse than he remembered. He was badly burned as well, to the point that he could barely move his entire body. He looked the otherway and realized they were lying on a beach, several people sitting around them, one of them with a doctor's medical bag beside him, bandaging Mira's injuries.

"Where are we?" Sado asked.

"A small deserted island," the doctor said. "You and your friend are in pretty bad shape. Thank you for defending us though. Your magic is quite powerful."

Sado groaned, rolling to his side and pulling a portible communication lacrima out of his pocket, flicking it into the air and watching it expand. "Hibiki."

The middle of the lacrima grew hazy before Hibiki's face appeared in it.

"What happened?" Hibiki asked.

"Dark Wizards," Sado said. "We're stranded on a small deserted island. Can you trace the call with Archive?"

"Just a second," Hibiki said. "Yes. I have your position. We'll be there soon with Christina."

Sado nodded and Hibiki's face was replaced with Makarov's. "Master, our cruise ship was attacked by a pair of Devil Slayers. Mira and I are both okay and Blue Pegasus is sending Christina. We should be home within a few hours."

"Devil Slayers?" Makarov snarled.

"Yes," Sado said. "But they weren't at full power. They had the magic but their Magic Energy was as low as a civillian's, almost. If they had been trained wizards, things might have been different. One of them was talking about someone else, though. His employer. He said that his employer is stronger."

"I see," Makarov nodded. "Once you get back, we'll deal with this employer. I'll get Porlyusica while we wait. Be careful Sado. This employer may attack while you're weakened."

"We will be," Sado said.

Then, the lacrima dropped, landing in the sand beside him and shrinking back down. The doctor finishex with Mira's worst burns and turned to Sado, beginning to bandage his burns, starting with his neck, though he kept glancing at Sado's face.

"Considering I flew head-first into a stream of flame, i'm sure i look absolutely beautiful right now, but don't worry about my face," Sado said. "The last thing I need is the Trimens making fun of me for looking like the mummy. Freddy Kreuger is bad enough."

The doctor grinned knowingly and continued bandaging Sado. After a few more hours of waiting, Christina landed on the island and the survivors began to get on, Hibiki and Ren got off, carrying Sado and Mira into the ship, taking off again and heading for Magnolia.

As it flew, Sado pushed himself into a sitting position, taking Mira's hand and feeling for a pulse. He found one, however weak, but it didn't help him not worry. Mira hadn't woken up once since the fight with Jack and Hope. She should have.

"She's going to be okay," Hibiki said. "She just needs to rest."

"She's been resting longer than me," Sado said.

"Yes, but you're stronger than her," Hibiki said. "She had to fight someone almost as strong as you. She had to have been exhausted."

Sado nodded silently. He hadn't thought of that. He felt terrible for dragging her into the fight. But even if he had ordered her not to fight, she would have. He smiled to himself. The only person in the world he could trust without question was also the only person who never did what he said.

For the rest of the trip, he sat there, holding Mira's hand and waiting for her to wake up. After a few hours, Christina landed and he lifted Mira, carefully making his way off of the ship and into the guild hall to the medical wing, laying Mira in one bed and pulling the covers over her before sitting on his own bed, groaning.

"I'm surprised you're able to move at all, much less carry your equally wounded girlfriend hundreds of meters to a bed," Porlyusica said, watching from the doorway. "You really are the most resilient person I've ever met."

"I'm also not human," Sado said. "Can you help her?"

"Of course I can," Porlyusica snorted. "Who do you think I am?"

She walked over to Mira, holding her hand over her burns as he hand glowed, the burns fading slowly. As she did, Mira's face contorted in discomfort before slowly relaxing again. Once Porlyusica had mostly healed Mira, she walked over to Sado, smirking.

"I know, I know," Sado said. "My face is burned."

"You don't know the half of it," Porlyusica said. "This is going to hurt."

"No worse than getting the burns," Sado said.

Porlyusica snorted, beginning to heal his face first, Sado gripping the sheets and gritting his teeth as white-hot pain flooded his body. His vision went completely white while she worked, the focal point of the pain slowly making its way first down to his neck, then the front of his torso, then the back. Then, she started down his right arm, then back up his left. Finally, the pain began to fade and Sado released a breath he didn't realize he had been holding in a hoarse wheeze.

"I don't remember your healing hurting that bad," Sado said.

"Usually you're the one unconscious for most of it," Porlyusica said. "What did you fight?"

"Devil Slayers," Sado said. "A Fire Devil Slayer and a Blood and Darkness Devil Slayer."

"Two?" Porlyusica asked. "They must have been quite powerful to have been able to wield two."

"Especially given it was an eight year old girl," Sado said. "She had a lot of potential to be a great wizard. If only her father hadn't made her fight me."

So you killed her?" Porlyusica asked.

"I had to," Sado said. "It was either I kill her, or I risk her coming back later to kill me and Mira both. Besides, that young a child with two Devil Slayer Magics? She'd have been a devil herself within a month."

"I suppose so," Porlyusica said. "For what it's worth, I'm sorry you had to do it."

Sado shook his head slowly. "So, how long until me and Mira are fully healed? And until Mira wakes up."

"You'll be healed within two days, Mira by tomorrow," Porlyusica said. "Humans have always been more receptive of my healing magic than you. As for her waking up, a couple more hours at most. You're lucky. She almost completely expended her Magical Energy."

Sado nodded and Porlyusica stood, reaching into a pouch hanging from her waist.

"Here," she said, holding out several of her small healing lacrima. "If I remember correctly, you're out of these aren't you?"

"Yes," Sado nodded. "Thank you."

Porlyusica nodded and walked back to Mira, setting her hand on Mira's forehead, her hand shining for a few seconds before she walked out of the room. Just as the door closed, Mira's eyes fluttered open and she looked around, confused.

"It's alright," Sado said, standing and walking over to her, sitting in the chair beside her bed. "We're back at the Fairy Tail guild hall."

"What happened to Jack and Hope?" Mira asked.

"They're both dead," Sado said. "You were pretty beat up in the fight, and you almost killed yourself by using too much magic. What do you remember?"

"Trying to fight Jack," Mira said. "And a lot of pain. Then nothing."

"We got stuck on a deserted island for a few hours before coming back here," Sado said. "Porlyusica said you'll be mostly healed by tomorrow, and me by the day after. I suppose we should refund that couple huh?"

"I suppose so," Mira nodded. "I'm glad you're okay."

"Me?" Sado snorted. "You're the one that almost died this time. Why didn't you switch to Sitri?"

"Sitri uses flames to fly, remember?" Mira asked. "If I had used Sitri, it would have only made Jack stronger."

"I suppose you're right," Sado nodded. "Well anyway, at least it's over now."

"What about his employer?" Mira asked.

"Master Makarov said we'll try to figure out who it is once we're healed," Sado said. "However, chances are that he, or she, will find us themselves eventually and we'll have to fight them then."

Mira nodded and Sado slipped his hand into hers.

"Do you feel better now that you've gotten even?" Sado asked.

"I think I still owe you a few more," Mira giggled. "But I think we can call this fair enough."

Sado smiled, kissing her before sitting back down as Mira yawned, closing her eyes and drifting back off to sleep, Sado doing the same in his chair.

* * *

Leave a review.


	51. Chapter 51

I do not own any of the original Fairy Tail characters.

* * *

Duel

Sado threw the door open as Michelle's scream echoed through the guild hall. However, rather than an enemy attack, Michelle seemed to have tripped.

"Looks like a false alarm," Mira smiled.

"Looks like," Sado smirked, only for his smile to drop as the object she had been carrying, her present to Lucy, began to spin.

It floated into the air before righting itself, the gear on the bottom and the rest of it pointing to the ceiling. Then, glowing golden script began to shine from it. Sado stared at the script, walking toward it.

"Maybe Levy could read it," Lucy suggested.

"She left with Shadow Gear this morning on a job clear across Fiore," Makarov said. "Freed is gone too."

"What's up Sado?" Natsu asked. "Do you recognize that writing?"

"I...I think so," Sado said, staring at the writing, kneeling and leaning in close to it.

"What do you think it's trying to tell us, big sister?" Michelle asked.

"I wish I knew," Lucy said.

"I think...this word is clock?" Sado said, wracking his brain for the symbols.

"Sado," Makarov said. "I think you should let sleeping dogs lie."

"What are you talking about?" Lucy asked, looking back at the clock.

"No," Sado said. "It's not clock. It's time." He tilted his head to the side, reading the inscription in silence. _Time ticks forward, on toward inevitable chaos._

"What's it say?" Lucy asked.

"I know that phrase," Sado muttered thoughtfully before his eyes widened. "Oh. Master Makarov's right. We should let sleeping dogs lie."

"Why?" Lucy asked. "What'd it say?"

"I...couldn't quite figure it out," Sado said. "If you let me hang onto it, I'll keep trying."

"No, that's okay," Lucy said. "Me and Michelle can figure this out."

"You sure?" Sado asked.

"Yeah, we got it," Lucy smiled.

"Alright then," Sado sighed, glancing at Makarov. "Well, I'm going to go and grab a bite to eat."

He walked out of the guild hall and Mira followed, the others watching them go.

"What did it say?" Mira asked.

"It's not what it says that matters, it's what it _is_ ," Sado said. "It's one of the hands of the Infinity Clock. It's a device that skews people's perception of time and causes madness and chaos. And once assembled, it's incredibly hard to break again."

"I see," Mira nodded. "Maybe we should take the piece."

"No," Sado said. "That'll just cause more problems then it'll solve. I'm sending a flame dragon to each of the other pieces. Before I lost my memory, I got bored and tracked them down. Guess that kind of thing tends to happen when you live for four hundred years. Anyway, the dragons won't be able to protect the clock pieces for long, but it'll last long enough for us to react."

"You think someone's after the other pieces?" Mira asked as they got out of Magnolia and Sado formed his dragons, sending them away from the city.

"Yes," Sado said. "And I think Michelle's involved in it. Something about her just seems off somehow."

"Okay," Mira nodded.

Just then, a bolt of lightning shot into the air from the woods West of Magnolia. Sado and Mira glanced at each other before Mira transformed into her devil form and picked him up, flying them to that spot in the trees and setting him down again, transforming back as they watched Laxus and Natsu glare at each other, Gajeel standing beside Natsu and the two more hot-headed of the wizards with their respective element flying off of them.

"Wait!" Wendy's voice suddenly shouted as she ran over. "Stop! If you guys are really gonna go through with this, you gotta make sure it's a special occasion!"

"I'll agree to that," Sado said, stepping out of the trees, Laxus staring at him in surprise before seeing Mira, his eyes widening further before he cleared his throat and looked away. "Tomorrow then, in the center of Magnolia where everyone can watch."

"Okay, sure!" Natsu grinned. "Let the guild know the four of us are going to have a showdown."

"Only one fight is going to be worth anything," Sado said. "At least, as long as I don't go too hard on Laxus."

Laxus swallowed hard and Natsu growled in annoyance.

"No way Sado!" Natsu said. "You took my fight last time! This time, it's all mine!"

"If you say so," Sado shrugged. "You can be beaten first."

Mira gave him an exasperated look but Sado chuckled and shrugged.

"What?" Sado asked. "It's Laxus."

Mira rolled her eyes, turning to Natsu. "Good luck Natsu."

Natsu grinned and nodded and he, Gajeel, and Wendy left, the thunder legion following. Sado turned back to Laxus, who sighed.

"Whatever," Laxus said. "I'll be there tomorrow. Then we'll see about repeating the last fight or not."

Sado remained silent as Laxus walked away. Then, he turned to Mira who sighed.

"Come on," Sado said. "Let's head back. We have a special event to prepare for."

Mira smiled and nodded, the two walking back through the trees in silence.

* * *

Laxus sat under the tree in silence, the Thunder Legion behind him, reminding him of how great they thought he was. Across from him, Gajeel stood stoic and silent as he waited for his turn after Natsu, and Natsu cracked his knuckles as Happy told him to be careful. Off to one side, Jason from Sorcerer Weekly was commentating on the fight. Basically he was saying how cool the fight was going to be, as he had all through the impromptu festival Fairy tail had thrown the night before. Finally, Natsu stepped forward and Laxus stood, hands in his pockets.

"Let's do this thing," Laxus said.

"Bring it!" Natsu grinned.

"But I gotta warn you that I'm not gonna hold back," Laxus continued.

"I don't blame ya," Natsu grinned.

"You understand?" Laxus asked. "If you don't survive this it ain't my fault."

"I could say the same for you big guy," Natsu grinned, his fist lighting on fire.

Lightning began to fly off of Laxus as he tensed. Natsu began to shout in effort, his flames erupting to life over his entire body as his power climbed rapidly. He was stronger than Sado had expected, a lot stronger than back when Laxus had cause Fairy Tail to fight itself, but as Natsu's power rose, Laxus very carefully matched it exactly. Natsu was finished. No doubt about it. Sure enough, when Natsu leapt forward, punching at Laxus, Laxus let him get close before easily stepping around the punch and punching Natsu in the top of the head, making him slam into the ground, unconscious. For a moment, there was a stunned silence.

"T.K.O.!" Jason shouted.

"Oh come on Natsu," Sado sighed. "That's just sad."

Sado sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Alright that's it. I'm training him."

"Probably wise," Laxus said. "Kid's got some serious power, to be honest. Back when I fought you, he might have actually challenged me if he got serious."

"No," Sado said. "But he and Gajeel together might have."

"Actually, if I fought him then, he probably would have eaten my lightning then and used it to beat me," Laxus said.

"Lightning?" Sado blinked. "He can't eat lightning."

"He can," Laxus said. "When we fought Hades, Grimoire Heart's master, he absorbed my lightning, combining it with his flames, and used it to beat Hades."

"Well well," Sado smirked. "Natsu, you're just full of surprises."

"So, Gajeel's...next?" Laxus trailed off, staring and Sado turned, seeing that Gajeel was gone and clearly no one had seen him leave.

"Wow!" Jason shouted. "Gajeel just ghosted!"

"You mean that lousy coward ran away!?" Wakaba demanded.

"Relax," Sado sighed. "I'll take his place."

"Alright!" Jason cheered. "Fairy Tail's former powerhouse Sado is going to fight Laxus next! So cool!"

"Why does he have to make it sound like I'm not a powerhouse anymore?" Sado groaned.

"Sado," Mira said, turning him toward her. "Please don't go too hard on him."

"I'm not going to," Sado sighed. "It's in the past."

Mira nodded and kissed him before Sado turned back to Laxus, gritting his teeth as he recalled how much he used to hate Laxus. Flames burst to life on his fists and he smirked, glad he had control now.

"Alright Laxus, are you ready to-"

"Hold on," Laxus said, Sado stopping mid-sentence. "Before we start this bloodbath, there's something I gotta say. I'm sorry for all of the horrible shit I did before. It was wrong of me to do it, all of it, and I hope you can forgive me. If you can't I understand, but I just wanted you to know that I regret it all."

"I see," Sado said, smiling. "Don't worry about it. I'm not angry about it anymore. And just so you're aware, I'm not going to go all out on you."

Sado watched the relief shine from Laxus's eyes as a massive weight seemed to lift off of his shoulders. Laxus smiled, straightening his back and nodding, forming a fist as lightning exploded off of himself. Sado was about to spike his own power when he remembered the collateral damage from the last fight.

"On second thought, maybe we should move this somewhere...less expensive," Sado said, Laxus stopping and allowing his lightning to fade.

"Yeah, you're right," Laxus nodded.

They turned to walk away from the tree just as Wendy, Carla, and Makarov arrived, Makarov silently staring at Laxus. Laxus remained silent as they stared each other down. Finally, Sado stepped in between them.

"Hello Master Makarov," Sado said. "We were just on our way out of Magnolia so we can spar without breaking anything. Would you like to watch?"

"No," Makarov said. "Sado-"

"I'm not going to hurt him," Sado said. "What happened in the past is in the past."

"It's not that," Makarov said. "I trust you about that. This has to do with the matter we discussed a couple days ago."

Sado nodded silently.

"I can't find any information at all about that subject," Makarov said. "Chances are, we'll have to let the answer reveal itself to us of its own accord."

"I suspected as much," Sado nodded. "Master, what would you say if I said I wanted to recruit someone banished from Fairy Tail? I know that Devil's Claw is a separate guild, but as partners, I'd like your input."

Makarov was silent for a long while before nodding. "Okay. I think that would be an excellent idea. So long as it doesn't cause any problems for Devil's Claw."

Sado nodded, smiling, and continued out of the city with Laxus, stopping and turning to face him as Laxus turned toward him as well. Both spiked their power, the ground beginning to break apart as the crowd off to their right began to cheer.

"What makes you think I want to join your pretend guild?" Laxus asked.

"I don't think you do," Sado said. "I'm making a bet with you. I'll use fifty percent of my power, and if you can beat me, you won't join. If I win, though, you do."

Laxus smirked. "What's fifty percent look like?"

"Destructive," Sado said. "But not my devil powers, so there's that."

Laxus smirked, nodding. "Okay, sure. I accept. But I'm not going to hold back."

"I hope not," Sado said.

Laxus spread his feet, his skin turning to scales as lightning began to fly off of him rapidly, his eyes glowing gold and firing lightning as lightning streamed out of his mouth. Sado spiked his own power to fifty percent, his flames raging off of his torso and arms rapidly. Then, Laxus was off like a shot, flashing to Sado and punching, Sado's fist meeting his and causing an explosion, hurling both. Sado flipped, landing on his feet and placing his hands together then separating them and slamming them into the ground, sending a field of flame spikes at Laxus who blasted the ground with lightning, stopping the attack.

"Lightning Dragon's Breakdown Fist!" Laxus thundered, punching at Sado and sending a fist made of lightning flying at him.

Sado shouted in effort, firing twin jets of flames into the fist, causing it to explode, the blast throwing him backward. Just as he bounced off the ground, Laxus appeared, punting him like a ball and sending him bouncing off the ground. Then, Sado flipped, flames engulfing his right fist as more erupted out of his back, feet, and elbow, sending his fist blasting into Laxus's face as Sado narrowly slipped past Laxus's own punch. Laxus shot backward, bouncing once and landing, inhaling.

"Lightning Dragon Roar!" Laxus shouted, firing a wall of lightning at Sado.

Sado inhaled then firing a wall of flames to block Laxus's spell, the two attacks hitting each other's and exploding just as a bolt of lightning appeared beside Sado, Laxus appearing there, hand encased in lightning.

"Lightning Dragon Iron Fist!" Laxus shouted, slamming his fist into Sado's side and sending him plowing through the ground. "Lightning Dragon's Jaw!" He appeared over Sado, hands clasped over his head and with lightning flying off of them, only for Sado to shove off the ground, flames exploding out of his hands and knees as he kicked outward with both feet, smashing them into Laxus's gut, hurling him backward. Laxus flew several hundred meters before crashing down, Sado standing and wiping some blood from the corner of his mouth.

"Impressive power," Sado smirked. "What's next?"

He could see Laxus's mouth moving, but just as he stepped forward, Laxus punched his hand upward, lightning flashing out of the sky. Sado's fist slammed into his palm at the last second before the explosion enveloped him. As the dust settled, Laxus appeared over Sado, staring down at his motionless body.

"Looks like fifty percent wasn't enough," Laxus said. "Sorry Sado. No new recruit for you."

"Is that right?" Sado groaned, slowly pushing himself up, reaching his feet and staggering backward several feet before steadying himself and inhaling slowly.

Laxus rolled his eyes, leaping backward just as flames exploded to life over Sado's body. Laxus landed on his feet, grinning. "Your stamina's impressive. I understand you're only at half strength, but you're still taking a beating. But I think this fight's lasted long enough. Shall we finish it in one go?"

Sado nodded, forming a shield of flame in front of himself, bracing his left foot and hand against it as flames began to explode out of his back, right foot, and right elbow, a massive fireball enveloping his right fist. Laxus grinned, lightning encasing his body for a moment before most of it focused to his own right fist.

"Let's go!" Sado shouted, his shield vanishing.

He leapt forward, his left foot launching its own flames as he pulled his right fist back even further.

"Dragon Slayer Secret Art, Roaring Thunder!" Laxus shouted, shooting toward Sado.

They both punched, their fists colliding and exploding, launching both of them. Sado flipped over twice before bouncing once and landing on his feet. Laxus on the other hand, crashed down into a crater and stayed there. Sado sighed, walking over to Laxus as he ate one of Porlyusica's lacrima then knelt, lightly slapping Laxus on the cheek to wake him up and holding the lacrima out.

"Welcome to the guild Laxus," Sado smiled. "You're probably going to be called a Lightning Devil."

Laxus sighed, rolling his eyes and taking the lacrima.

"Don't throw up," Sado warned.

Laxus bit down on the lacrima and grimaced but didn't gag. Once he was healed, he stood, dusting himself off as Mira walked over with the stamp bearing Devil's Claw's crest. "I'm not calling either of you Master."

"Didn't expect you to," Sado smiled. "And it's mostly in name anyway. However, if something happens and we need your power, we can get ahold of you now."

Laxus looked over at him as Mira stamped the crest on his right shoulder. "What do you mean?"

"That crest is a little different than Fairy Tail's," Sado said. "Rather than the Tenrou Tree's blessing, the Devil's Claw crest can also function as a sort of telepathy spell. Don't worry, I can't read your mind, I can just send you something like a feeling that you desperately need to return to the guild, for example."

"It's a distress signal?" Laxus asked.

"Among other things, yes," Sado said. "That's about the only thing we'll be using it for, though."

"Okay, so what's going on that you needed to recruit me?" Laxus asked.

"Devil Hunters are after me, and probably Mira as well," Sado said quietly as the crowd dispersed back into the city. "A pair of them that wielded Devil Slayer Magic, something that's stronger than Dragon Slayer Magic, already found us once, but they were dealt with. The problem is that one of them talked about a more powerful one that sent him. It may be only one, it may be a group. It may be only one that wields multiple types of Devil Slayer Magic. We're not sure."

"I see," Laxus nodded. "Alright. When the time comes, I'll help you face whoever it is."

Sado nodded. "See if you can dig anything up on them either. They were behind the theft of the Magic Council's library, though the thief was the one we fought before. Chances are, they belong to a Dark Guild. However, they seem to know practically everything about me."

"So it's either a very intelligent Dark Wizard in a Dark Guild, or it's someone close to you," Laxus summarized. "I'll see what I can find out. I'll check in in a few weeks."

Sado nodded and Laxus smirked.

"Thanks for the work out," Laxus said.

Sado smiled and nodded and Laxus turned, walking away from Magnolia, Sado and Mira returning to the Fairy Tail guild hall.

* * *

Leave a review.

 ** _A.N.: I need suggestions for who else to have recruited into Devil's Claw. The guild will become a team in Fairy Tail soon, but it still needs at least two more characters. Please help._**


	52. Chapter 52

I do not own any of the original Fairy Tail characters.

* * *

Annoyances

Sado plugged his ears as the Elvis Presley wannabe sang horridly into his wooden staff. For a moment, people began to complain about his singing, until the man began to bulge, green slime flooding out of his clothes. It began to surge toward the Fairy Tail members that had found the three uninvited guests waiting for them and Elfman ran to try to stop it barehanded, only for Sado to catch him.

"Easy Elfman," Sado said, backing away as he formed a long flame spear, poking the slime with it, only for the flame spear to be sucked inside. He let the spear fade and Elfman began to back away as well. "I thought so. It sucks in anything that touches it. What did you say your name was? Sugarboy? Well, I would appreciate it if you'd stop blowing snot at us."

Sugarboy grinned wickedly as he continued his horrendous singing. The girl in the middle of the three who had been the first to demand they hand over Lucy Heartfilia, Mary Hughes, was also grinning wickedly, holding a small wooden wand with the end being a hand with its index finger extended. The last girl, who Lucy had called Coco, remained silent, watching them all. Then, just as the slime exploded forward, only to be blocked by a massive wall of ice and flames courtesy of Sado, Gray, and Ur, Coco appeared behind Macao and Wakaba, quickly attacking Macao before avoiding several strikes from Wakaba's smoke magic.

"Athletic Magic," Sado warned them. "She's going to be hard to hit. At a guess, I'd say Mary Hughes uses conducting magic."

"Not bad," Mary Hughes smirked. "You really know your stuff."

Suddenly, the wall holding back the slime shattered and the slime surged toward them, everyone scattering. After a moment, Wakaba, Macao, and Romeo were all caught, and Natsu collapsed against a wall, his fight with Laxus catching up to him finally. Gray, Sado, and Ur continued to block the slime where they could, others doing whatever they could to try to slow it down as well. A moment later, Lisanna and Elfman were also caught. But after several more moments, Sugarboy snapped his fingers and the slime retracted, slipping back into his clothes. Sado sighed, making himself breathe as hard as Gray was as the three wizard grinned wickedly.

"Game, set, and match," Coco grinned. "Ya ready to give up yet?"

"Not a chance," Sado said, straightening up and cracking his neck. "I'm just warming up."

"But your friends aren't," Coco said. "Your guild master, his assistant, the kid, your big friend and his sister. You're down half the group that's here. Plus your pink-haired friend over there doesn't look too good, so maybe you should call it a day."

"You're waisting too much time Lucy," Mary Hughes said. "Hurry up and get over here before we show your friends what we're really capable of. Sugarboy here would love to play another solo."

"Oh please, for the love of God, do _not_ let him sing again," Sado groaned. "My ears can only handle so much torture."

"That's not very nice," Sugarboy said.

"Does this look like the face of someone who cares?" Sado asked, forcing all emotion from his expression.

"We got us a tough guy," Mary Hughes grinned. "I'll handle him."

"No," Sado snarled. "All of you get out of here. Find Master Makarov. Let me worry about these three."

"We'll be back soon," Mira said.

Sado nodded, placing his hands together before forming a flame wolf for everyone who was unconscious, his three opponents allowing him to get them away. Then, as soon as they were, Sado stepped forward, swinging his arms forward and sending waves of flame at the three. Before it could get there, the slime reappeared, Sugarboy's annoying voice filling the air again as the flames exploded against the slime harmlessly.

"Damn," Sado growled. "You really annoy the shit out of me. Fine then. Fire Make Floor!"

He slammed his hands into the ground, flame spikes shooting outward from him, only for the slime to stop it again. However, just as it did, the ground below the three began to glow cherry red. All three swore, moving to flee as Sado grinned.

"Got you," Sado grinned, yanking his hands upward.

Flames and molten rock exploded out of the ground, Sugarboy crashing into his own slime while Mary Hughes and Coco escaped the blast, Coco taking off after Michelle and Lucy since Lucy was carrying the clock piece and Michelle was dressed like the three expected a Heartfilia to be. Sado formed a fireball to launch at her but suddenly his body spun and the fireball shot toward Macao as he fled.

"Macao, look out!" Sado shouted.

Macao dropped instantly, narrowly ducking under the fireball. Sado turned toward Mary Hughes and snarled angrily.

"How dare you make me attack my own friends?" Sado snarled. "I'll burn you to ash for that!"

"Yeah right puppet!" Mary Hughes snorted. "Why don't you start by not hitting yourself?"

Then, his fists began to crash into his face repeatedly. After several punches, his arms snapped up, flames bursting into life on his fists.

"Now bring it home!" Mary Hughes said as Sado's arms swung downward.

"Alright sure!" Sado grinned, the fire expanding into a massive fireball.

The resulting explosion as it hit the ground sent him skidding backward, and sent Mary Hughes and Sugarboy crashing into the wall of the guild hall, Mary Hughes' stick flying into the air where Sado raised a hand, launching a fireball at it. Then, snot blocked the fireball, allowing Mary Hughes to catch the stick.

"Okay fine!" Sado shouted taking a step forward.

Huge mistake. The moment his foot touched the ground, slime exploded out of the ground, surrounding him and rapidly draining his magic. Finally, it dropped him, retracting and he groaned, watching as the two turned, running away from the guild and into the back alleys of the city, heading for the forest where Coco had chased Lucy and Michelle to.

"Damn," Sado groaned. "Beaten by snot. I'm never living that down."

He pushed himself up, groaning and dusting himself off as Mira landed beside him.

"Are you alright?" Mira asked.

"Yeah," Sado said. "He didn't take as much magic as he thought he did. Come on. We need to find Master Makarov."

Mira nodded and they both ran away from the guild hall, splitting up to search.

* * *

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	53. Chapter 53

I do not own any of the original Fairy Tail characters.

* * *

Guarding

Sado sighed, rubbing the corners of his eyes. They hadn't been able to find Makarov until after the fighting had ended, and now Mary Hughes, who according to Gildarts was a part of the Legion Platoon, a military group under the church of Zentopia, had managed to steal the clock arm from Lucy. Sado picked up his beer, taking a swig. Things were about to get very complicated. For the sake of keeping Magnolia out of any further battles, they had all moved to the Devil's Claw guild hall for a little while, and were licking their wounds while they tried to think of a plan. Finally Sado stood.

"That's it," Sado said. "I'm done waiting. I'm going to gather the clock pieces."

"You will do no such thing," Makarov said.

"It's what they're trying to do," Sado said. "If I get them all, they have to come to me to get them back, then all I have to do is beat them."

"Like you did last time?" Gray asked.

"What is this clock anyway?" Michelle asked.

"It's the Infinity Clock," Sado said. "A device that warps people's perception of time and causes ceaseless madness and chaos. If they get it, there's no stopping them. So I'm going to get the pieces before they can."

"What if we just break the pieces?" Happy asked.

"It's not that easy," Sado said. "It's been tried before. I know where all of the pieces are. I'm going to gather them."

"No," Makarov said. "Our enemy has a head start. We have to assume you can't reach them all in time. Mark down the locations and then choose one and we'll send out teams to each."

Sado nodded, quickly jotting down the locations. "I have a Fire Make Dragon guarding each piece. It should buy us a little time, but not much. Now, I have to go. I don't care what the other teams are. Just make it quick. I don't feel like having to break an indestructible clock."

Before anyone could say anything, Sado was off, streaking through the air. However, after a moment, Mira caught up to him, catching his hand and stopping them both, Sado sighing as he turned to her, only or her arms to wrap around him. He swallowed a sob before hugging her back.

"I'm sorry," Mira said. "I shouldn't have let you be the one to fight Hope."

"I was the only one who could," Sado said. "It had to be me. I thought, maybe I could handle it because of everything I've done. But..."

"You're human," Mira said. "No matter what you were, or what you've done, you're human now. And you're the best person I've ever met. You had to do what you did. And no one will ever blame you for hurting because of it. Everything else that happened, that wasn't you. You're not a devil. Not anymore. You're Sado. And no one will ever change that."

Sado watched her in silence before nodding and smiling. "Thank you Mira."

Mira smiled and nodded. "Now, go get your clock piece."

Sado smiled and nodded, kissing her then turning and flying away. He flew constantly, not slowing down once. Finally, his destination came into view. It was a desert with a group of floating chunks of metal.

"Wonder who they'll send here," Sado said, landing on his dragon's back, the dragon curling around so that its head was beside him, allowing him to rest his hand on it. "Maybe I should head inside." He looked up at the sun, glad that he was unable to get hot. He sighed, curling his dragon's body around behind himself so he could lean back, forming the dragon into a sort of semi-living throne.

Then, he waited. Time ticked by slowly as he waited for someone to arrive. Finally, after hours of waiting, Lucy, Natsu, Happy, Michelle, and Romeo arrived.

"Sado?" Lucy asked. "What are you doing here?"

"I had a change of heart," Sado said. "If I kill whoever they send after this piece, they can't form the clock. Gathering the pieces together would make things easier for them."

"Well, should we wait up here then?" Lucy asked.

"No," Sado said. "You guys would cook in the sun. Head inside and find the piece, then stay with it. I'll delay whoever shows up up here."

Lucy nodded, watching as Sado walked over to the floating pieces, extending his wings and floating a couple inches into the air.

"The floor drops out from under you," Sado warned, pressing his finger to a key hole and forming his flames into the shape of the lock, turning it.

The pieces shone blindingly before rotating in a circle. Then, the ground dropped, all of them except for Sado and his dragon falling. Sado sat back on his dragon as the ground closed again and waited. The sun began to sink toward the horizon as he waited. And still no one showed up. He looked toward the door.

"No," Sado said. "They couldn't be. The door was still locked."

"Indeed it was," a voice said from above.

Sado looked up, smirking as he saw the giant flying octopus descending to the ground. However, as soon as he saw the man standing on top of it, he narrowed his eyes irritably. The man on the octopus wasn't any happier to see him.

"You!" Byro snarled.

"Me," Sado said, allowing his demonic voice to mix with his own for a moment. "I was wondering if I'd ever see you again Byro."

"Finally I'll be able to repay you for your sins," Byro snarled.

"Can you though?" Sado asked, drumming his fingers on the dragon's head. "Last time you tried to fight me you didn't do so well. However, I let you live anyway since your desire to prove your worth to the Archbishop was sort of entertaining. How does it feel to know that you're the only man I ever allowed to live after fighting me? I bet that helped your reputation."

"I was a mere child then," Byro snarled. "I've grown much stronger. I was able to fight on level with Gildarts Clive!"

"If you think Gildarts was giving you his all, you're a bigger fool than I thought," Sado said. "But even if he was, I suppose that _would_ make you fairly strong. Perhaps I'll have some fun after all."

Sado stood, the dragon coming alive again, snarling at Byro and his octopus. Byro narrowed his eyes as the dragon shot forward, straight at the octopus. Before it could arrive, Byro swung his staff, the tip glowing, and the dragon went out, the sand behind Byro exploding.

"Nullification Magic," Sado smirked. "That's right. You _were_ pretty annoying with that shit. Alright then. Let's see about dealing with you the fun way."

Sado leapt at Byro, using his wings to get around one of the octopus's tentacles as it swung at him, then dropped on its head, punching it and making it roar in pain, dropping to the ground unconscious. Byro shouted in rage instantly, swiping at Sado with his staff.

"You'll pay for that!" Byro seethed, his staff smacking harmlessly into Sado's forearm, Sado's devil traits blazing to life.

"Will I?" Sado asked. "Let's see about that."

Sado lunged, punching at Byro's face but Byro stepped around it. Sado spun the other way, slamming a windmill kick into Byro's staff and smashing it. Byro stabbed at him with the broken end and Sado swept it aside, punching Byro and sending him flying away from the octopus. Then, Sado leapt after him, crashing down where he had been a moment before, Byro having thrown himself to the side. Sado smirked as Byro stood.

"You're pretty quick," Sado said. "I'm actually surprised you evaded that punch. Of course, we both know that neither of us is really trying here."

"That's true," Byro said. "But the longer we fight, the longer Dan and Coco have to find the clock piece."

"Oh so Coco's here huh?" Sado asked. "Well, she's definitely not finding it. She'll probably end up befriending Lucy. As for this Dan guy, he'll have to go through Natsu."

"Child's play," Byro said.

"We'll see," Sado said, lunging at Byro and throwing a punch, Byro catching it in his hand and driving the broken end of his staff up at Sado's abdomen, Sado catching the staff and halting it. "Good try." He spun, flipping Byro over himself and slamming him into the ground. Then, he raised his hands, a pure white fireball forming between them. "Let's see you set this off behind yourself!"

He swung it downward and Byro shouted in rage, his arm snapping up and his fist smashing through the fireball, which shattered. This time, however, there was no explosion. Before Sado could react, Byro began to pummel him with punches and kicks, rapidly slamming him to the ground and continuing his assault. Finally, he stopped, fist cocked back, as Sado grinned.

"What?" Byro demanded.

"You were a little too focused on trying to rearrange my face. You didn't notice me rearranging the ground."

Byro looked down, seeing a circle of glass under Sado's hand. Then, the glass shattered and the sand sunk, Sado throwing Byro off and extending his wings, stopping his own fall as the sand pit rapidly grew, dropping the massive octopus as well, both it and Byro crashing down in a ruin deep underground. Sado sank down to the church-like building they had crashed down in just as a massive gyro-looking device in a secret chamber behind one wall began to glow yellow. One the ground beside Byro, the clock's arm began to glow as well. Sado wasn't sure where Byro had kept it, but it was there and Sado didn't like it.

"Sado!" Lucy gasped happily. "Are you alright?"

"Me?" Sado snorted. "This guy's a pushover for me. How are you guys?"

"We'll make it," Lucy said.

"Get them Kanaloa!" Byro suddenly shouted, picking up the clock arm.

The octopus suddenly turned to Sado, who was standing beside Lucy and Coco, before spewing its ink. Sado grabbed both girls and leapt out of the way instantly, the ink melting through the floor the moment it hit. Sado set the two girls down, Coco staring at him in shock.

"Why did you save me too?" Coco asked. "I'm your enemy."

"No, you're a kid," Sado said. "Speaking of, hey Byro, what's the big idea almost killing Coco?"

"She is a proud member of the Legion Platoon," Byro said. "She is proud to give her life for this Holy War."

"You sadistic, self-glorifying fuck!" Sado snarled, walking toward Kanaloa and Byro, Kanaloa backing away as he did. "Who gave you permission to speak for Coco? She's not your slave or your tool! She's a living being!"

"That's right!" Lucy said. "How dare you say she should die for some stupid war that you started? She has her own dreams, her own plans! Who gave you the right to decide when she dies?"

"It's pretty ironic hearing you speak about the value of life, Sado," Byro said. "Actually, it's not ironic. It's disgusting! Kill him!"

Kanaloa swiped down at him with a tentacle but Sado flipped, kicking it sideways into the wall of the church before lunging, stepping past Byro's fist and punching him, sending him blasting into Kanaloa and both into the wall beside the Infinity Clock's body. Byro growled in rage as he dropped to the ground, glaring at Sado. Finally, Lucy stepped in between the two.

"Wait!" Lucy said. "What do you want with the clock pieces? Can you at least tell me that much?"

"We are under the orders of the Archbishop of Zentopia," Byro said. "He has been having visions of destruction and darkness, with the phrase, 'Time ticks forward, on toward inevitable chaos' being repeated throughout the dream. One day, he summoned me to his private chambers and told me that the phrase refers to the Infinity Clock's true nature. Once every hundred years, the Infinity Clock activates, releasing the magic power it has gathered. When this happens, if the six pieces are gathered and combined, the clock's power will bring about the end of the world. He informed me that there was a magic guild seeking to do just that and combine the pieces. I cannot allow it. The Archbishop sent us to fight this holy war because only we have the power to protect the clock pieces."

"Wait, all you want with the pieces is to keep them from being combined?" Sado asked. "Then shouldn't they have stayed hidden and sealed?"

"The Archbishop could not take the risk of a magical guild finding them," Byro said. "And low and behold, you, a magical guild, did just that."

"Oh please," Sado snorted. "I have no intention of allowing the clock to be assembled. It was a hard enough job for me to tear it apart before."

"You?" Byro blinked. "You broke the Infinity Clock? How? And why would you?"

"Every minute of every day for years, that fucking thing kept tolling, and I had to listen to it," Sado said. "It never stopped. It was constantly ringing. So, one day I got tired of hearing it. I tracked the thing down and I broke it."

"How?" Byro asked.

"I hit it with a clock tower until it stopped ringing," Sado shrugged.

"You hit the Infinity Clock, with a clock tower?" Byro blinked. "Right. I'll believe that about the same time I believe you're not a devil."

Sado sighed. "Right. That."

He walked forward, Byro readying himself as he approached.

* * *

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	54. Chapter 54

I do not own any of the original Fairy Tail characters.

* * *

Oracion Seis

Sado walked forward, Byro readying himself to fight as he approached. Then, Sado stopped, kneeling and placing his forehead to the ground, Byro staring at him in confusion.

"For everything I've done, you have my humblest apology," Sado said, everyone in the room staring at him in shock. "I know that no apology, or any amount of regret, will ever be able to make up for what I've done, but it's all I can give you. For years, I couldn't remember what I am, and I so desperately wanted to. But now that I do, I want nothing more than to forget. Not a day goes by now that I don't regret everything I've ever done. My dreams are haunted by the faces of everyone I've ever killed. Every murder, every fight. I hear their screams in my head almost constantly. If I could return life to the dead at the cost of my own, I would in a heartbeat. But I can't. I deserve death for my sins. I know that. But I will do everything I can to atone."

"What, do you expect me to forgive you?" Byro asked. "I didn't try to kill you the first time for glory alone. That's just what I told you. You killed my-"

"Your mother, your father, and your newly wed bride," Sado said. "I know. I can remember them all."

"I will never forgive you," Byro snarled, raising his staff over his head. "I should kill you now."

"You have every right," Sado said. "And I won't stop you. It's no less than I deserve."

"What's going on?" Natsu asked. "What's all this talk of murder and sins?"

"You don't know?" Byro asked. "Your friend is a centuries old demon who has spent four hundred years burning innocent people to death for fun. He has killed more people than the Black Wizard Zeref and all the demons in the Book of Zeref combined."

Everyone stared at Sado in shock.

"Tell me, did my family die quickly?" Byro asked.

"I wish I could tell you they did," Sado said. "But no. Your father tried to fight me, and after I defeated him I tried to finish him only for your mother to shield him. Both clung to life and the hope that they might survive for nearly a half hour before they died. Your wife clung to life in the hopes of seeing you one last time for two hours. Those three were some of the longest I allowed someone to live."

"I see," Byro snarled. "I should kill you for that alone."

"Wait!" Coco shouted, stepping into view. "Don't do it!"

"Coco?" Byro asked. "What are you saying? He's a monster. A being born of sin who has committed atrocities beyond counting. Death is the only way for him to receive true judgement."

"That may be, but the Archbishop teaches us that those who wish to repent, regardless of sin, must be helped to do so," Coco said. "How can he do that if you kill him?"

"He can repent through death," Byro stated.

"That's not right!" Coco argued. "You're going against our teachings! Zentopia teaches forgiveness, not vengeance! We should help him repent in life so that when he dies he might go to heaven! Not kill him and condemn him to hell!"

Byro stared at her in silence for several seconds before lowering his staff. "I can never forgive him. But I won't kill him. You're lucky, monster. You owe Coco your life."

Sado stood, nodding once before turning and staring toward the door of the church.

"What?" Byro asked.

"We're not alone," Sado said. "Something else is here."

"Who is it?" Lucy asked, looking around worriedly.

"I don't know," Sado said. "And they're masking their magic power enough that I can't pinpoint them."

"Your friend can sense other wizards from a distance?" Michelle asked.

"I can usually feel others because of a mixture of their soul and their magic energy," Sado said. "It's hard to explain. But for some reason I can't tell where this one is."

"That's amazing," Michelle said.

"Byro, there are a lot of things I disagree with about the way you run the Legion Platoon," Sado said. "However, I think we might need to put that conversation and inevitable battle on hold for now. We've got a few more uninvited guests. And I think I recognize a couple of them."

"Who?" Lucy asked.

"It's the Oracion Seis," Sado said. "Well, five of them, anyway."

Suddenly, the clock hand, which was in Byro's left hand now, shone blindingly, Byro shouting in pain and releasing it, allowing it to fly into the air, the other five pieces joining it.

"They're here," Sado said, leaping to the roof of the church, spotting the other teams running toward the church.

Mira leapt onto the roof, landing beside him as they watched the clock pieces fly into the air. "What's going on?"

"The Infinity Clock is rebuilding itself," Sado said. "Byro, I think the Archbishop may have been mistaken to order the pieces gathered. It looks like the clock assembles itself when they are. Unless, he already knew that."

"Are you accusing the Archbishop of being a traitor?" Byro demanded.

"Traitor, no," Sado said. "Controlled, possibly."

All six pieces met, shining blindingly bright for a moment before the light faded slightly, revealing the complete clock. Sado swore, hurling a fireball at it, only for the fireball to break apart just before reaching the clock.

"This is going to be bad," Sado said.

The tolling began instantly, the sound echoing through everyone's head, Sado's head instantly feeling like it was cracking open with each stroke. Around him, the others fell to their knees, clutching at their heads. Mira groaned and he knelt, holding her and channeling magic energy into her, blocking the clock's effects slightly. As he did, his head snapped to the side as the other Fairy Tail mages stepped outside, finding five people standing on a cliff below the clock.

"There you are," Sado snarled, Mira standing, trying to ignore the clock's effects. "Cobra, Racer, Angel, Midnight, Erigor, and...a slot machine?"

"That's right!" the slot machine said, pushing his own lever down and getting three Oracion Seis crests. "It's true that you've met them before, but allow me to introduce an improved Neo Oracion Seis!"

"I know that voice," Sado said. "You were that stupid fucking staff that Brain carried around, weren't you?"

"Ding ding ding!" the slot machine said. "You guessed it! Allow me to introduce the members for those of you who don't know. Racer, the fastest man alive-"

"Con artist," Sado corrected. "Slows everyone around him down for a set distance."

"Cobra, the Poison Dragon Slayer who can hear your thoughts," the slot machine said. "The lovely Angel, the Grim Reaper..." he gestured to Erigor.

"And I am Brain The Second," Midnight said, twirling the small white braid that hung on the left side of his head.

"You're Midnight," Sado said. "A wielder of Reflector Magic and extremely powerful illusions during the midnight hour, strong enough to break a person's mind. However, you're not really that great a threat either."

"A lot's changed in the last seven years," Midnight said. "You would be wise not to underestimate us."

"Trust me when I tell you I could burn you all to a crisp in mere seconds if I wanted to now," Sado said. "You may all have gotten stronger for seven years, but I gained four hundred years worth of power."

"We'll see about that," Midnight said. "Nothing will stop me from achieving my one wish, to fulfill my father's dream and destroy all which has form in this world."

"I can't believe you're still spouting the same nonsense," Erza said from below Sado and Mira, one of her swords in-hand.

Midnight smirked as the members of the Oracion Seis raised their hands, the Infinity Clock glowing green. "You've been very helpful, thank you. But I'm afraid we no longer require your services."

"I've broken that clock once, and I fully intend to do it again," Sado said.

"What do we do Lord Byro?" a Legion Platoon member dressed like a knight and holding a shield and jousting lance, probably Dan, asked.

"Fight," Byro said. "We cannot allow them to take the clock."

"I'm all fired up," Dan said as he drew his lance and shield, he, Byro, and Natsu charging.

"What do you think you're doing buddy, don't you know that's my line?" Natsu said as they charged.

"Lousy insects, look at how they swarm," Midnight said.

He swung his hand, a purple spell circle forming in front of him before Brain's Dark Capriccio spell fired out of it, a couple dozen green energy blasts shooting toward the three.

"I'm gonna bounce your attack right back at you!" Dan said, the three wizards stopping as Dan raised his shield only for Sado to swing his own hand, a barrage of fireballs exploding against Midnight's spell and canceling it in a massive explosion.

"Your shield won't reflect his magic," Sado warned. "It might block most of the damage, but it won't reflect it."

"How do you know?" Dan asked.

"Like I said, Midnight wields Reflector Magic," Sado said. "He can cancel your shield's magic."

"Dammit," Dan growled. "That's going to be a problem."

"Not as much as you think," Sado said, dropping down in front of the three. "Allow me to handle them. You all focus on getting to the clock."

"Got it," Natsu nodded. "And when we get there?"

"Find a way to break it," Sado said.

Natsu nodded and Byro grunted, raising his staff.

"Byro," Sado said, Byro turning to him. "Here." Sado formed a flame replica of Byro's staff before it was broken and held it out to him. "It's charged with some of my magic energy so it'll give you a little boost, at least until it runs out. Then it'll disappear."

Byro nodded, accepting the staff and putting his own into a sleeve on his back. As he did, Midnight appeared on top of the Infinity Clock.

"I'm sure you're not aware of this, but once the Infinity Clock bears the symbol of a wizard, it becomes theirs," Midnight said. "In other words, now that it bears our symbol, it now belongs to us."

"That's not fair!" Lucy said. "You can't just show up and steal that thing for yourself!"

"I can hear it," Cobra smirked. Your anger and frustration. It's building up inside you."

"Ain't that a laugh," Racer smirked.

"Hear this!" Sado shouted, sending a swarm of flame arrows at him, only for Cobra to easily step around them, passing through the center of the swarm and allowing them to crash into the cliff behind him. "Not bad."

"We dark ones are forbidden from touching this clock," Angel spoke up, Dan suddenly staring at her in awe. "Therefor we had to have you assemble it for us."

"There you have it folks, that's how you play the game!" the slot machine said.

"So we were being used?" Lucy asked. "No way." She turned to Michelle. "If that's true, then what about my dad? Why would he do this?"

"He never wanted you to have the clock hand," Sado said. "Isn't that right Michelle?"

"Michelle?" Lucy asked.

"Heads up!" Natsu said. "Here they-"

He was cut off as Racer crashed into him, blasting him backward before doing the same to Gray and Erza, both of whom had moved to fight him. Sado turned, leaning out of the way of a punch from Racer, who watched him as he passed, before flipping and kicking Sado in the back before he could react, blasting him into a boulder. Sado stood, dusting himself off and smirked.

"You're a hell of a lot faster than before," Sado said. "However, your strikes don't pack enough of a punch to defeat me."

"Then try mine!" Cobra shouted, appearing beside him and punching him, a blast of pure sound sending Sado blasting through the ground.

Sado pushed himself up to his hands and knees slowly, groaning, and sticking his fingers into his ears, trying to get them to stop ringing. "Yeah, that smarted a little bit."

"If you'd just stay down, I wouldn't hit you much more," Cobra said. "Well, I would, but at least then you wouldn't have to waist energy failing to fight back."

"Why don't you come over here and say that?" Sado asked, looking up at Cobra.

Cobra snorted in amusement, stepping forward only for the ground beneath his foot to explode. Sado grinned for half a second until Cobra snapped his fingers and an explosion of sound sent everyone in a three hundred foot radius flying, which was practically everyone. Sado stood, wiping a trickle of blood from his ears as he watched Racer fighting Mira, Elfman, and Lisanna in silence.

 _Fuck,_ Sado thought. _That's not good._

He turned, seeing Erigor blast Erza and Gray away from himself with a massive tornado and leapt at Erigor himself. Erigor turned toward him just in time to use a blast of Wind Magic to block Sado's fireball, Sado blasting through the wind himself and slamming a punch into Erigor's jaw, sending him blasting into a cliff, Sado's ears still failing to hear anything. As Sado landed, something exploded into his back and he bounced along the ground before standing, seeing Midnight smirking at him, one hand extended.

Suddenly, Angel held out a hand, three golden coins hovering over her hand, glowing gold. She held her hand above her head, the coins flying into the air and shining brilliantly. The, the golden light turned pure white as a figure appeared over Angel. Sado's stomach dropped as it turned its head to stare at him. It was an angel. A literal angel. He swore, slamming his hands together and separating them, forming dozens of layers of shields between his friends and the angel. It raised a hand, pointing at him as the light shone blindingly again, making it impossible to see. Sado spiked his power as high as it would go, crossing his arms in front of his face and lifting his knees in front of his torso, desperately trying to shield his vital organs from his impending death. Then, agony was all he knew.

* * *

Leave a review.

 ** _A.N.: I need suggestions for Ur and Lisanna's pairings. Any suggestions would help but the ages have to be relatively close. For Lisanna somewhere around 20 and for Ur somewhere around 25. Please and thank you._**


	55. Chapter 55

I do not own any of the original Fairy Tail characters.

* * *

Reasoning

Sado slowly opened his eyes, staring up at the ceiling in silence. His body wouldn't respond. He closed his eyes, seeing the angel again. Barakiel. Ninth watcher of the twenty leaders of the two hundred fallen angels. He was lucky to be alive. He opened his eyes, groaning slightly as he lifted his head, staring at his body. His torso was badly burned still, and his arms and legs were burned completely off around mid-bicep and mid-thigh. He let his head fall again, suddenly feeling hollow. He barely registered that his ears had been healed, but assumed that was Wendy's doing. After another moment, Mira knelt beside him, smiling sadly.

"Are you alright?" Sado asked.

"We're all fine," Mira said. "The attack collapsed the grave, but the only one hurt by it was you. It was like it chose to target you."

"He did," Sado said.

"He?" Mira asked.

"Barakiel," Sado said. "An angel. Her magic summons actual angels, at the cost of her lifespan. Can my arms and legs be fixed?"

"We've tried calling Porlyusica, but she's not answering," Mira said. "Wendy's tried healing you, but it's an extremely slow process. At best, maybe one of your healing lacrima will work. We've sent Jet to get them, but it'll take him some time to get back. We're at the Blue Pegasus guild hall for now."

"How long was I out?" Sado asked.

"About a day," Mira said.

"Where's Michelle?" Sado asked.

"She left to get some fresh air a few minutes ago," Mira said. "Lucy went to find her and make sure she was okay and Natsu, Gray and Erza went to make sure Lucy was okay. Based on the way you asked Michelle about Lucy's father wanting her to have the clock hand, I'd say that you don't trust Michelle, do you?"

"I don't," Sado said. "I think Michelle's an insider for the Oracion Seis. However, without proof, I can't back that theory up. And if she is, she's the best actress I've ever met."

"Why do you think she's an insider?" Mira asked.

"Something feels off about her," Sado said. "Something I can't explain. I can sense her like everyone else, but it seems...I don't know...off somehow. Plus, all of this started the day a mysterious relative of Lucy's that she had never heard of but somehow used to play with showed up with an artifact that just happened to be a part of one of the most dangerous artifacts in the world and which just happened to be what the Oracion Seis needed for us to start looking for the other pieces. It's all just too perfect for the Oracion Seis."

"I see," Mira nodded. "You have a point. But I'm sure it's all just coincidence."

"Maybe," Sado said. "You know, Ur taught me to make functional prosthetic limbs from my Fire Make Magic. But now that I have no arms, I can't even do that."

Mira sniffed suddenly, tears rolling down her face. "I'm sorry. If I had known this is what would happen, I would have gone after Angel first."

"No one could have known," Sado smiled.

Mira nodded wiping her eyes and lying beside him, carefully wrapping her arms around him, careful not to agitate his burns. They stayed that way for a long while, until the Infinity Clock began to toll in their heads again. He grit his teeth, blocking it out as Mira struggled to ignore it. Finally, it stopped. After another half hour or so, the door opened and Jet walked in, Mira sitting up.

"The others have all headed back to Fairy Tail's guild hall to discuss our next move," Jet said. "Here."

He handed Mira a lacrima and she placed it in Sado's mouth, Sado biting down on it and swallowing, feeling his limbs explode into pain. The burns all faded, but the limbs failed to regrow.

"Damn," Sado sighed. "I guess this is it, then."

"Maybe Ur can make you prosthetics," Mira said.

"Maybe," Sado said. "We should get back to Fairy Tail. Maybe Porlyusica can still help."

Mira nodded, picking him up and walking outside, transforming into her She Devil form and taking off, Jet running toward Fairy Tail on his own. After about an hour of flying, Mira landed in front of the building, carrying him inside in time to see Elfman carrying an unconscious Kinana away from the wall where something had been carved in ancient Potamelian.

"What's going on?" Mira asked.

"Laki had an episode," Macao said without looking. "She carved something on the wall then passed out."

"Let me see," Sado said.

Mira walked him over to the wall, Sado ignoring the shocked looks of everyone who hadn't been present at the fight. She set him in front of the wall and he scanned it.

"Will Neville was once a great wizard who made contracts with many Celestial Spirits and was remarkably skilled at using them," Sado read. "In life, Will Neville had numerous followers, however, after he fell into his eternal slumber, his pupils scattered in all directions to places unknown."

"I have an idea!" Lucy said, running out of the room then coming back with a biographical encyclopedia. She scanned through the table of contents until she found Will Neville's name and flipped to that page. "Here it is. Will Neville. An author...and a cardinal of Zentopia?"

"So he was a bird?" Natsu asked.

"Cardinal is a high-ranking church official," Erza said.

"According to this, he was a very dedicated and prominent member of the church," Lucy said. "He was also the most extensive researcher on Zentopia's history. That is, until the day he suddenly left the church and went missing for quite a long time."

"Does it explain why he left?" Evergreen asked.

"No it doesn't," Lucy said. "But apparently, several years after he disappeared, he reappeared into the public eye as Will Neville, the author of children's literature. But there's no mention of him being a celestial wizard in here. Or that he had any kind of following."

"Sado," Ur said from beside him and Mira. "Your limbs...how?"

"An angel," Sado said. "Can you make me a pair of arms for a second?"

Ur nodded, forming him a pair of functional prosthetics that he then placed together, forming himself a pair of legs and his own arms, Ur's Ice Make ones shattering as his Fire Make ones appeared. He tested them out and grimaced. They were functional, but fragile. He definitely wouldn't be fighting with them. He looked over at the others as Cana, who had been trying to sleep earlier, hurled several cards at a map. the cards predicted who would go where to fight the Oracion Seis. Anyone whose cards weren't needed fell to the floor, his own lying on top of it. As Macao began to list the teams, Sado walked away, walking around behind the bar and getting a bottle of whiskey, taking a swig. Mira walked over beside him, hugging him, and he rested his head on her shoulder.

"I don't know if I'll be able to handle this one," Sado admitted. "I hope Porlyusica can help."

"It'll be alright," Mira said. "We'll figure this out somehow. Who knows. Maybe there's a magic that can restore lost limbs."

Sado remained silent as he watched his fire make hand waver before righting itself. Suddenly, he stopped, staring up at Cana. The teams had left, but something felt off. He walked over to Cana quickly, stopping at the map and staring at the six spots. It was the right number, except there was something wrong. In the original Oracion Seis, the staff, Klodoa, hadn't been counted as a real member. If he was the slot machine, that left one member unaccounted for.

"What's wrong?" Mira asked.

"Cana, I need another reading," Sado said, Cana looking at him in surprise. "This time of the Oracion Seis and Legion Platoon members."

He used his Fire Make Magic to make cards and handed them to her. She shrugged and channeled her magic into them, throwing them. As they stuck into the map, Sado saw the problem. Of the Legion Platoon, there was a member with each of the Oracion Seis, except for Racer, who was alone. Samuel and Hughes were also alone. Hughes was where Juvia and Gajeel went, Samuel was where Happy's team went, Byro was with Natsu's team along with Klodoa, and the others were all matched up for a fight. All but Racer. Racer was unopposed.

"What's here?" Sado asked.

"I...I don't know," Cana said. "Nothing, as far as I can tell."

"There's something," Sado said. "I'm going there to stop Racer."

"You're hurt, badly," Cana said. "You can't go alone."

"He's not," Mira said. "I'm going with him."

"So am I," Lisanna said.

"Alright," Macao nodded. "Go. We'll keep trying to get ahold of Master Makarov or Porlyusica."

Sado nodded, the three of them going outside and Mira transforming. Sado extended his own wings and Mira picked up Lisanna. Then, the two of them flew away, heading for Racer's location rapidly. Sado knew in his gut that they were too late, but he pushed himself harder, feeling his limbs wavering slightly as he focused his magic energy on speed. Finally, a church came into view, explosions going off inside of it. Off to one side, a distance from the tree, there was a tree with two people standing under it. One was Lahar. The other looked a lot like Wendy, but around twenty years old. She wore a simple white dress, sandals, and a pair of metal arm bands with her blue hair cut short.

Just as Sado noticed the pair, Mest appeared a short distance from them, collapsing, and Racer appeared behind him, the red markings on his otherwise black bodysuit glowing. In an instant, Racer had knocked Lahar away, but before he could attack the girl with the glowing ruby dagger in his hands, Sado exhaled a jet of flames at him, Racer leaping away from it. Mira dropped Lisanna off beside the girl then landed beside Sado, the two standing in between her and Racer.

"Destroy...vessel," Racer said.

"Lisanna, keep her safe," Sado said. "Mira, if that dagger hits anyone, it's going to send out a magic field that will damage any biological link magics in the area. I can sense one on the girl. If it hits her, her magic power is going to be removed entirely. If the knife hits her directly, she'll be petrified for a hundred years."

"Understood," Mira nodded. "Let's go!"

She shot forward, Racer appearing beside her and punching at her, only for her to spin and block the punch. The moment she did, several fireballs crashed into Racer's side, hurling him away. He bounced off the ground once before landing on his feet, grinning.

"Angel really fucked you up huh?" Racer grinned. "Guess I'll finish the job for her."

Sado exhaled a stream of flame at him as Mira fired a beam of dark energy, but Racer appeared in front of Sado, kicking him and causing his arms and legs to disperse. He crashed to the ground and Racer laughed, lunging at the girl with the dagger. Sado extended his wings, flying up in front of him and blasting him away by exhaling a fireball, only for the ruby dagger to pass him. Mest appeared in front of it, the dagger stabbing into his shoulder. Then, blood red light covered all of them momentarily before Racer vanished, the girl beginning to fall only for Lisanna to catch her. Markings appeared over her body and broke apart, blowing away and fading as the small spotted Plue-like Celestial Spirit off to one side sat down, looking sad.

"She'll be alright," Sado sighed. "She'll wake up in a few minutes. Good save Mest."

"You..." Mest stared at him in shock. "You're...alive?"

"I am," Sado nodded, taking in Mest's appearance.

He was unshaven, disheveled, and his clothes were stained with alcohol, dirty, and torn. He looked like he had lived from one bar to the next for the last seven years.

"But...how?" Mest asked. "And...your limbs. Did you...lose those on the island?"

"No," Sado said. "Yesterday, actually. Long story. We all survived the island just fine."

"All?" Mest asked, eyes wide with shock. "So then...Wendy is..."

"Wendy's alive, yes," Sado said. "Why are you so broken up about Wendy?"

"I...I left her to die," Mest said.

"You left all of us to die," Sado said. "What's so special about Wendy?"

Mest stared at the ground. "She reminds me of my little sister. My sister died when we were young, but Wendy...she's a lot like her."

"I see," Sado nodded. "Well, if you want, you can stop by the guild hall after this Infinity Clock bullshit is over. You can apologize for failing her yourself."

Mest nodded and Sado set himself down beside Mira, who held him up as he let his wings fade.

"So much for my arms and legs," Sado sighed.

Mira remained silent.

"So who is she?" Sado asked.

"Katja," Lahar said.

After a few minutes, the girl finally stirred.

"Good you're awake," Mest said, Katja currently held in his arms. "You're not hurt are you?"

"No I'm fine," Katja said. "But what about you?"

"You shouldn't worry about me," Mest said. "I'm sorry. The anti-link magic hit you. I couldn't stop it."

"I see," Katja nodded. "That explains why I don't feel the biological link. But you saved me from the curse's effects."

"Well, aside from your magic power," Lahar said, looking to the spirit, who was beginning to fade, raising a hand to wave goodbye to Katja.

"Niko, thanks for everything you've done," Katja said, sitting up, Mest's arm staying around her for support. "I'll never forget you or the others, I swear."

Niko said something in the odd language his type of spirit had and Katja smiled.

"Yeah, you're right," Katja smiled, wiping her eye. "And it won't be in a hundred years. I'm sure, we'll meet again soon."

"So, you can understand what it's saying?" Mest asked.

"Kind of," Katja said. "I can only catch a little bit here and there, but i'm pretty sure he's saying thanks for helping." She giggled before translating the next part. "He also says, 'Get your paw off her.'"

"Oh, my bad," Mest said, hurriedly taking his arm back and scooting away from her, Lisanna, Mira, and Sado all laughing.

"I assume this also means you're no longer a celestial wizard," Lahar said.

"I'm sorry," Mest said. "When it came down to it, I simply wasn't able to protect you."

"None of us were," Sado said.

"No, you're wrong," Katja said. "You did protect me. From a horrific curse. If you hadn't been here, I'd be as good as dead now. So thank you. You saved my life. You're my hero."

"Thanks, but...I'm not..." Mest stopped, staring at Sado before smiling slowly then standing. "Thank you, Katja. Lahar, let's go home."

Lahar nodded and turned to Sado. "For the record, I had Org put in a vote for you to be allowed to rejoin Fairy Tail, in light of your help against Grimoire Heart and the Oracion Seis. It's been put on hold for now, but it will likely be resumed after the Oracion Seis is dealt with. I'll try to swing the council members onto your side."

"Why are you helping me?" Sado asked.

"Because I can see that, despite what you were, you're a good person now, and you want to atone for your sins," Lahar said. "I hope things go well for you."

"Thank you Lahar," Sado said. "And Mest, for what it's worth, you're a good person. I'm glad I didn't kill you during the S Class trials."

"Um, thanks?" Mest more asked than stated.

"What I mean is, if you ever get tired of life with the council, I'm sure you'd be welcomed at Fairy Tail," Sado said.

Mest smirked then shook his head, turning and walking away. Sado sighed, looking back to Katja, who was struggling to hide how sad she really was to lose her magic.

"You should come back to Fairy Tail with us," Sado said. "Our guild master might know a way to restore your magic."

"Really?" Katja asked, hope flickering in her eyes for a moment.

"I can't promise anything," Sado said. "But if anyone will know, it's him."

Katja nodded, smiling.

"Okay," Katja nodded. "I'd love to."

Sado nodded and extended his wings again, lifting off the ground and glancing at his limbs. "I'll carry Lisanna on my back. Mira, you carry Katja."

Mira nodded and Sado turned away from Lisanna who carefully lay on Sado's back between his wings, wrapping her arms around his neck. Then, he and Mira took off, both starting slow before speeding up, flying back toward Fairy Tail.

* * *

Leave a review.


	56. Chapter 56

I do not own any of the original Fairy Tail characters.

* * *

Rematch

"So the Michelle Lobster we knew was an imposter after all?" Sado asked.

"Yes," Mira nodded. "You were right. Her real name is Imitatia, the sixth member of the Oracion Seis."

"I see," Sado nodded. "And Cana's fortune telling was wrong too."

"That's right," Mira nodded. "She was manipulated through her dreams into foretelling the teams that worked best for our enemy."

Sado nodded, staring at his fire make limbs. They wouldn't last long enough for him to fight, but he still had to do something. Cana, Macao, and Makarov were debating the teams, so Sado walked over.

"Sado, I know you're struggling, but we need Mira to go," Cana said.

"It's fine," Sado said. "I'm going too."

"Are you sure?" Makarov asked. "You've only got a fraction of your power like that."

"It'll be enough," Sado said. "If we fail, everyone will lose their identities and Lucy will be trapped in the Infinity Clock for a hundred years. We have to stop them."

"Okay," Makarov nodded.

"This time, you're staying far away from Angel," Mira said.

"I have absolutely no intention of fighting another angel," Sado said. "We need to go."

"Christina's here!" Max announced.

They all headed outside, getting on the ship and taking off. As they did, Sado used his portable communications lacrima to call Porlyusica.

"What?" Porlyusica asked.

"Can you regrow limbs?" Sado asked.

She was silent for a long while before shaking her head. "No I can't. That power doesn't exist."

Sado nodded, sighing. "I was afraid you'd say that. Okay. Thank you for being honest."

With that, he ended the call, putting the lacrima back in his pocket. After a few minutes, the ship shook as the rear began to trail smoke.

"I'll go check it out!" Mira said.

"Wait for me!" Elfman said, chasing after her.

Sado stared out the window, but a minute later, Mira shot past the window with Racer. He grit his teeth but remained where he was. Elfman stepped into the room just as a couple of the others stood to go after her.

"Let my sister handle him," Elfman said. "We need to keep going."

"First we must make some repairs," Ichiya said.

Sado placed his hands together then separated them, forming a shell around Christina, temporarily repairing the damage. "Keep flying while we fix it."

Ichiya nodded and Sado left to the damaged section, quickly patching up what needed to be before returning to the deck of the ship just as they reached the Infinity Castle, a giant fish-shaped construct that the Infinity Clock had grown into. As they neared it, several soldiers began to fire at them, only for Ichiya to blast them with Christina's guns. Then, Kanaloa was flying toward the ship, his body deflecting Christina's shots. He wrapped his tentacles around the ship tightly, beginning to squeeze slowly. Sado set his hand against a tentacle.

"Kanaloa, please, stop," Sado said. "We're trying to do the right thing."

Kanaloa continued to squeeze so Sado sighed, placing his hands together.

"Fire Make Porcupine!" Sado snarled, the flame shell already around Christina suddenly erupting with spikes, Kanaloa shrieking in pain as his tentacles were impaled dozens of times over.

Sado retracted the spikes and Kanaloa fell, crashing down in front of Byro, who Sado locked gazes with as they passed. That was one fight Sado could never win now. But Byro didn't attack. Instead, he shrunk Kanaloa down to its normal-octopus-sized form and turned, walking into the cathedral.

"Everyone be ready!" Sado shouted. "Out of the people we can expect to fight, there's Angel, Cobra, Midnight with his staff Klodoa, Imitatia, and Guttman the Cleaner."

"What about the Legion Platoon?" Ur asked, walking over to him.

"Out of all of them, Sugarboy is most likely, but I doubt they'll cause us any problems in light of things," Sado said. "Gray, you're with me so that you can fix my arms and legs if necessary."

"Right," Gray nodded. "For the record, Ice Make limbs are sturdier than Fire Make ones."

"Shut up Gray," Sado said. "Ichiya, land us at the front door. And expect Cobra and Angel to meet us there."

Ichiya nodded and a moment later, Christina stopped in front of the cathedral, everyone dropping to the ground and running inside, following the hallways quickly until they reached the Archbishop's chambers, finding Byro and Gildarts having a staring contest.

"Are we interrupting?" Sado asked.

"Just finishing dealing with the cardinal who's been controlling the Archbishop," Gildarts said.

"That explains a lot," Sado said. "Wendy, tend to the Archbishop."

"I'll admit," Byro said. "I'm surprised that you'd be brave enough to break into the Grand Cathedral of all places."

"Is Kanaloa okay?" Sado asked.

"No he's not," Byro said.

"Wendy can heal him after she helps the Archbishop," Sado said.

Just then, a laugh echoed from off to the side. "Struggle all you want insects. The Real Nightmare already has you in its web. As of today the world you knew today is over. The Infinity Clock fuels the great power that Zentopia was founded upon. And that power has not diminished since it was imprisoned. But back then it was known to all as the Infinity Castle."

"Wow, how original," Gray said.

"Every one hundred years during Zentopia's founding festival, the Infinity Castle releases every ounce of pure magic power it's accumulated. A century's worth of power, unstoppable and ripe for the taking."

"You caused all that suffering just to steal magic?" Happy asked.

"No you fool," the cardinal said. "My only goal is to revert the world to chaos! There is no higher purpose to me. With Real Nightmare at my control, I can return the world to anarchy that reigned before Zentopia's time. The true heart of man with all its greed and hatred will be allowed to flourish once again!"

As he began to laugh, Wendy walked over to Byro. Byro pulled out Kanaloa, who whined weakly, and Wendy began to heal him, his tentacles sealing quickly.

"Please don't let me sway you from saving the day!" the cardinal laughed. "Al you have to do to stop the clock is kill the girl! But I know you won't do tha-"

He was cut off by several flame spears crashing down in his chest. For a moment he simply lay there, then, his body shone and faded, leaving behind a lock of hair.

"That smell," Natsu said. "Gross, it's Master Zero's hair."

"So he was a puppet too," Gildarts said. "How'd you know?"

"I didn't," Sado said. "We're wasting time. We have to pull Lucy out of the clock before she's absorbed. She'll be in the Infinity Castle's throne room. Probably guarded by Midnight, who will have Klodoa with him, and Imitatia who I think wants to keep Lucy for herself."

"How do you know?" Natsu asked.

"Just a hunch," Sado said.

"As the leader of the Legion Platoon, I take full responsibility for what the others have done," Byro said. "However, at least in this case, I know what must be done. In order to stop the Infinity Clock, Lucy Heartfilia must die."

"Don't you dare!" Natsu shouted, leaping at Byro and throwing a punch only for Byro to block it and smash Natsu away.

Gildarts stepped forward next. "I owe this guy a beating. I'll take care of him while you find Lucy."

"Alright, I guess I'll let you have him this time," Natsu said. "Just make sure he feels it, okay?"

"Coco, can you get us into the Infinity Castle?" Sado asked, receiving a nod. "Alright. Let's go."

They all turned to leave, only for Samuel to crash down in front of them in his combat form.

"Lily," Sado said.

"What are you doing Sammy?" Panther Lily asked.

"As I said I serve Lord Byro," Samuel said. "I don't need calculations to know what's right. When the life of one person is weighed against the fate of the world, there's only one course of action."

Samuel turned and flew out of the room, Sado hurling Panther Lily after him, Panther Lily switching to his combat form as well and crashing into Samuel, the two beginning to fight.

"Coco, let's go," Sado said. "Warren, you stay here as a liaison. Wendy, stay here with Laki and keep healing the Archbishop. Everyone else, you're with us."

Coco ran out of the room, Sado and the others following, Gildarts keeping Byro busy. After a few minutes of running, they entered a tunnel that looked like it had been made by a giant drill. Every so often, stretches of red stone reached across it, but otherwise it was a perfect circle.

"I wish the Neo Oracion Seis would hurry up and find us, I start to rust if I don't bash in some heads by dinner," Gajeel complained.

"Relax," Sado said. "I can sense Cobra just up ahead."

As if on cue, Cobra appeared above them.

"End of the line," he said.

"Erza, you want a rematch?" Sado asked.

"Sure," Erza nodded. "I'll handle Cobra."

"Good luck," Sado said. "Let's go!"

He turned, continuing along the tunnel with the others, Cobra letting them pass. After a couple of minutes, they stepped out into a wide-open chamber with plants growing all around them.

"What's with all the plant life?" Elfman asked.

"Greenhouse maybe?" Gray guessed.

"Why grow a garden inside of a gigantic clock?" Gajeel asked.

"Shit!" Sado swore, diving to the side as a bolt of pure white energy blasted the ground.

He pushed himself up, reforming his left leg, which had been dispersed during the landing, then glared at Angel, who had a real angel hovering behind her, holding a golden bow in its left hand, a pair of massive, feathered wings behind it.

"Well well, the devil appears again," Angel said. "It looks like you didn't fair too well last time."

"Damn," Sado growled. "A holy archer. I'm not going to be able to escape that guy's sights."

"We'll help," Gray said as he and Ur prepared themselves.

"Good," Sado said. "Because I don't want to die today."

"So you're my opponents?" Angel asked. "Good. Maybe this will be a little more interesting then."

"Good luck Sado," Natsu said.

"You too," Sado nodded.

Natsu and the others continued on, the three maker wizards preparing themselves to fight. Angel grinned as the archer pulled his bow's string back, a pure white arrow forming once again, once again aimed directly at Sado. Sado dove to the side, the arrow only barley missing him, and Ur responded by sending a hail of ice arrows at Angel.

"Don't you _dare_ hurt my students!" Ur seethed.

"Calm down Ur, we're not going to die so easily," Gray said, tossing his jacket and shirt away.

"Why did you take your shirt off?" Angel asked as she landed on a different building, allowing the ice arrows to miss her completely.

"You gave me a good thrashing before but not this time," Gray said. "You'll be a real angel when I'm done."

"Oh how I hate stubborn men," Angel sighed. "Kill the bitch first. She's the most dangerous."

The archer turned on Ur, releasing the arrow it had been readying. However, before the arrow could hit her, a flame dragon grabbed Ur from above, getting out of the way before flying at Angel. Ur formed an Ice Cannon, firing it at Angel only for her to dive out of the way, the archer firing and killing the dragon, who had dropped Ur. Ur landed in a roll just as several massive ice spikes impaled the archer, Serana screaming in agony as a pick black magical energy flew from her and the angel faded. As she stood, swaying lightly, she hurled four coins into the air, a massive infant-looking angel forming in the air above her, its hair styled a little like Sugarboy's.

"Shamsiel," Sado growled.

"Crush them all!" Angel ordered.

The angel lumbered forward instantly, grinning.

"An angel's light is like a thousand suns, see for yourself," Shamsiel said, a pair of pigs in pink bunny costumes appearing from its hair.

"Oh shit!" Sado said, turning to flee just as the pigs shone. Then, the light flashed and something crashed into Sado, both him and whatever had hit him crashing to the ground, his prosthetics being destroyed instantly. He turned to look, seeing a badly burned Ur, lying on top of him, her jacket having been destroyed in the blast. However, as he looked to Shamsiel, whose pigs were glowing again, Gray appeared above him, forming an Ice Make scythe and splitting Shamsiel in half, the four coins landing on the ground as Angel screamed in agony again, falling off of her roof and crashing to the ground.

"Gray!" Sado shouted. "Limbs!"

Gray leaned his scythe against his shoulder and formed Sado a compete set and Sado pushed himself up, gently picking up Ur, who groaned. She looked up at him and smiled.

"You okay?" Ur asked.

"You shielded me?" Sado asked.

"I tried to use an ice shield but it didn't hold," Ur said. "Sorry."

"Thank you for saving me, Ur," Sado smiled.

Ur smiled as well just as light appeared over Angel again, Barakiel appearing, once again glaring at Sado.

"Oh shit," Sado said. "Not him. Not again!"

Ur spun toward Barakiel as he spread his arms. This time, he wasn't shining nearly as brightly and Sado could make out his three faces, two on the sides of his head, his massively oversized arms, his massively over-sized wings, and the way his ribcage stuck out grotesquely. Then, a sphere of black and red magical energy began to form in front of Barakiel. Then, it released a massive barrage of glowing red energy blasts, Gray shielding himself and Sado and Ur together forming shields to block the energy blasts from killing them. The shields began to fall rapidly. Then, just as the last shield protecting Sado and Ur from Barakiel shattered, a green-tinted one appeared, holding out just long enough to block the last of the shots.

"Lyon?" Sado said, looking around then snorting in amusement.

Lyon waddled over, his diaper making it difficult for him to walk and his childish face set into a pout.

"He's so cute!" Ur grinned, Angel and Gray both looking and laughing.

"Silence!" Lyon's high-pitched voice said. "Beware my power!"

Everyone laughed at that, Barakiel hovering motionless for a moment, Sado sighing in relief. Just as everyone began to recover from their laughing fits, for which Lyon was pouting, a massive flaming spike burst out of the ground behind Angel, impaling Barakiel and making him-too, vanish. Angel managed to not scream this time, but just as she recovered, Dan appeared beside her, taking her hand and once again proclaiming his undying love, only to be pushed off the building.

"For the cost of a hundred I pray you come forth and slay in my name!" Angel said, hurling ten coins into the air. "Come forth, angel who blows the sound of the end times, Raguel!"

Sado's gut dropped as a massive angel with six heads, each holding a bone horn, four wings, four massive arms, goat legs, two long rat-like tails and a single long tail like the body of an eel, and hair in a pair of massive, curled ponytails appeared in the air over her. The angel began to blow its horns, sound waves crashing into Dan rapidly, his shield beginning to crack.

"There's nothing that can stop me!" Dan said. "I'll fight...until...the day...I win your heart!"

Then, the shield and his chest plate both shattered and he was sent flying. Just as he did, a green-tinted ice dragon crashed into Raguel from behind, making him turn. Ur and Gray both instantly fired an Ice Cannon at it, but it shot into the air over it, flipping, then fired a blast of sound at them. Lyon shoved both Ur and Sado, out of the way and the blast hit him instead, sending him crashing into a wall. He fell to the ground and pushed himself up, beginning to cry. Ur reformed Sado's limbs then walked over to Lyon, picking him up and sighing, beginning to bounce him gently in her arms.

"Now now Lyon, don't start crying," Ur said. "We've still got a fight to win."

"Me and Gray will handle this," Sado said. "You tend to the baby."

"I'm not a baby!" Lyon shouted. "I'm a man!"

"A man wearing a diaper and crying over bumping his head," Sado said. "Gotta go. Real man stuff to do."

He stepped up beside Gray as Angel landed in front of them.

"I will vanish into the sky like an angel," she was saying. "To vanish beautifully. That is my wish."

"What's she going on about?" Sado asked.

"She wants to die so that she can become an angel," Gray said.

"Oh," Sado said.

"Listen, Dan may be lovesick and crazy, but at least he's honest with himself," Gray said. "He lives life to the fullest. You wouldn't understand because you've barely lived at all. There's no point in wanting to disappear because you're barely here. Living in a guild has taught me one thing. We treasure our friendships, and we do whatever it takes to protect them. If you refuse to be a part of this world, you have no right to call it a rotten place, 'cause the truth is, you don't know anything about it! The way you spout off that nonsense, you sound like a spoiled brat who's pretending to be an angel!"

"Um, Gray," Sado said, watching as cracks spread over both Angel and Raguel.

"You think it's nonsense do you?" Angel snarled. "How dare you mock me? Belittle my deepest wish?" She began to radiate a pitch black aura as Raguel began to radiate a matching one.

"Whoa, what the hell's happening to you?" Gray asked, readying himself.

"Raguel, destroy him at once!" Angel shouted.

Suddenly, Raguel exploded, a blast of sound magic slamming into Gray and launching him backward, Sado bracing himself but not being hit. Then, he watched in shock and disgust as bits of Angel's body broke off as well, leaving a dark silhouette on the exposed right side of her face with a glowing red eye, and behind her, Raguel was reduced to a writhing red mass of what looked like blood and cartoonish faces.

"Yes, that's a good start!" Angel said. "Now keep at him until the fool is torn into pieces!"

"Angel!" Sado shouted. "Look around! Raguel's out of control!"

"Shut up!" Angel shrieked. "You don't know anything!"

Sado formed a fire make shield on his arm and leapt over the wall of blood that suddenly formed in front of him, several shots of blood red magic bouncing off the shield. Then, he landed in front of Angel, who was partway swallowed up by Raguel's body already.

"Angel! Look around!" Sado said, Angel blinking before doing so. "Is this what you've been longing for? This is what you want to become?"

"It's so ugly!" Angel gasped. "What is it?"

"It's the true form of your magic," Sado said. "You may be able to summon angels, but the magic is a parasite, feeding on your life force so that it can grow until this is what you've become. Is that what you want?"

"This thing...is me?" Angel said. "No! I'm an angel!"

"No you're not!" Sado shouted. "Human's can't become angels! All you can become is monsters!" He spun, forming a wall of flames as Raguel began to reach for them, barely holding it back. "Please! You have to get control of it! Don't let it consume you!"

"Please!" Angel suddenly cried. "I'm so scared! I want to live! I want to live!"

Suddenly, Dan Straight's lance shot through a gap in the blood wall, hovering in front of Angel as ice began to shred its way through Raguel's body, allowing Sado to drop to his hands and knees, Ur, Gray, and Lyon landing around him. After another moment, Raguel was gone and the area around them had been completely frozen over.

* * *

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	57. Chapter 57

I do not own any of the original Fairy Tail characters.

* * *

Saving a Friend

Sado sighed as Raguel faded and looked up at the three Ice Make wizards that had saved him just as Lyon began to shine. The other two Ice Make wizards turned to him as he grew, rapidly returning to his proper age before sighing. He smiled as he looked down at his hands.

"Much better," Lyon said.

"Welcome back handsome," Ur smirked, Lyon blushing slightly and clearing his throat.

"I'd appreciate it if you'd forget about me being a toddler during that fight," Lyon said.

"Fat chance," Gray said. "So much blackmail material."

Sado sat back, sighing, then turned to Angel, who was watching the four of them in awe. "You okay?"

"I...I feel..." she stopped, staring at a spot on her chest.

"You gotta admit, my timing was perfect," Dan said from where he was lying on the ground, exhausted. "At the exact moment that you destroyed that angel, I shrunk the core of her magic. Basically, you got all your coins back."

"And those years were added to your life," Gray said.

"I don't understand, why did you go to such lengths to save the life of your enemy?" Angel asked.

"Because," Sado said. "Enemy is subjective. If we didn't consider you our enemy, you wouldn't be. If we considered this a friendly sparring match, or trying to save a future friend, then that's what it was. I don't know if we'll ever be able to call you our friend, but I'd like to."

Angel stared at him before tears began to leak from her eyes. She smiled and tried to stand only to fall back to her knees.

"Easy," Sado said. "You're still going to be weak from expending so much magic energy."

"I surrender," Angel said. "I...If you would allow it, I want to join you. I want to see if we _could_ become friends."

Sado smiled. "Then welcome to the guild. We'll need to find you a new type of magic. Maybe light magic to go with your Angel motif."

"That's an excellent idea," Gray smiled. "Master Makarov could get her started."

Angel smiled and nodded.

"How do we keep her out of the hands of the Magic Council?" Lyon asked.

"By making her our insider," Sado said. "She'll have a reduced sentence for her previous crimes as a member of the original Oracion Seis, and she'll probably have some punishment for this time around, but I can get Lahar and Mest to back up my claims of having her as a secret double agent."

"You would do that, for me?" Angel asked.

"Friends help each other," Sado said before lying on his back. "Gray, Ur, Lyon, go and help Natsu and the others. I'm going to rest here a bit. I'm a bit exhausted."

"Right," Ur nodded. "Let's go."

The three of them continued on and Angel stood, walking over to Sado and kneeling beside him. He looked up at her and she smiled, gently lifting his head into her lap.

"I should probably warn you that I have a girlfriend," Sado said.

"I don't mind," Angel smiled.

"I don't want you getting the wrong idea," Sado said. "It really was just about trying to help because it was right."

"I know," Angel said. "I never thought anything else. I can tell that you love Mira with all your heart. I would never do anything to try to come between you. I'm not sure which of your wraths I'd be more afraid of. Anyway, I'm only returning the favor for saving me."

She held out four coins and they all glowed with golden light for a moment before fading. In response, Sado's body glowed. Then, the light faded.

"There," Angel said. "Your limbs will grow back now."

"Really?" Sado gaped.

"Yes, but it will take time," Angel said. "At best, it might be a week from now. Probably a little longer."

Sado nodded, smiling. "Thank you Angel."

Angel smiled, bending down and kissing him lightly on the forehead. "While I may never have you, I want you to know that I will always be there for you, if I can."

"Thank you," Sado said.

She smiled, setting his head back down and walking to Dan, helping him roll onto his back then sitting between the two. Just as she sat down, however, Warren's voice echoed through Sado's head, telling him, as well as the others, that they could delay Lucy's fate if they broke the Infinity Castle's chains. Sado groaned.

"Where are the last of the Oracion Seis members?"

"Midnight and Imitatia are fighting Natsu," Warren said. "Erza is fighting Cobra on one of the chains."

"Erza will be fine," Sado said, struggling to stand. "I have to go help Natsu."

"Romeo's on his way there," Warren said.

"Figures," Sado growled, falling back to his hands and knees. "This might take a while."

"Let me help," Angel said, lifting him to his feet, his arm over her shoulders.

Sado smiled and nodded and the two of them headed deeper into the Infinity Castle. After a few minutes, they reached the throne room, or at least, an area with a large round area where Natsu, Romeo, Ur, and Midnight were, with a large staircase heading up to an orange orb where Lucy was almost completely absorbed, Coco, Happy, and Imitatia standing before it.

"Sister!" Imitatia was screaming as her saw-blade shield was slamming into the orb again and again. "Please! Forgive me!"

"Well, this is an unfortunate turn of events," Klodoa said.

"Imitatia, you're of no further use to me," Midnight said, a blast of darkness magic shooting out and blasting Imitatia in the back.

For a moment she was suspended in the air before transforming to a ball of light and falling to the foot of the staircase, transforming into a doll that looked like her Michelle Lobster disguise. Sado stomped his foot and flames exploded up from below Klodoa, the staff narrowly escaping being burned away to ashes as Midnight turned toward them.

"You as well, Angel?" Midnight asked, Natsu and the others all staring at her in shock.

"He saved my life," Angel said.

"And now I'm going to kick...your..." Sado's eyes rolled back in his head and he collapsed, Angel shouting in surprise and lowering him to the ground.

Just as he was on the ground, Midnight appeared in front of Angel, kicking her backward before stomping on Sado's face, breaking his nose.

"Die!" Midnight shouted, lifting his leg again.

Before he could stomp again, Natsu appeared in front of him, slamming a fist into his face and launching him backward.

"Sado you goddamn idiot!" Natsu growled. "Always pushing yourself too hard. Now look at you. I bet you didn't even feel that."

Natsu shot forward, attacking Midnight rapidly. But while he did, Mest and Lahar appeared beside Angel. Her eyes widened but as Mest reached out to grab her, Sado's hand grabbed his ankle.

"Sado?" Mest blinked. "The hell happened to you?"

"In...side...er," Sado mumbled.

"What's inside her?" Mest asked, Angel's face turning scarlet.

Sado shook his head, struggling to find the energy to speak. "In...sider. Spy."

"A spy?" Lahar asked. "In the Magic Council?" He looked at Sado's hand then back at Sado. "Are you accusing Doranbolt of being a spy?"

Sado shook his head again. "Angel...spy...in...Oracion...Seis."

Sado's hand dropped to the ground as his eyes fluttered, struggling to close.

"I don't understand," Lahar said.

"He's saying that Angel was our insider, our spy, in the Neo Oracion Seis," Ur said, stepping up beside Sado and kneeling, lifting his head into her lap and pulling a healing lacrima out of his pocket. "Really now Sado, you need to stop making people feed these things to you. You have a way to instantly heal yourself. Use it."

She put it in his mouth and Sado chewed it before swallowing, barely able to gag. Then, he felt his strength return and sat up.

"Now can you explain what's going on?" Mest asked.

"Yes I can," Sado said. "Angel is a friend of ours. She wanted to try to make things right after what she did before, so when the Neo Oracion Seis was broken out of prison, she became our spy. She fed us as much information as she could about their movements, allowing us to ambush them several times. But it took us a little while to be able to defeat the others."

"So she was actually on our side?" Lahar asked skeptically. "And I assume you want me to make the council believe this was all part of some plan of mine?"

"Yes please," Sado said.

Lahar sighed, rubbing the corners of his eyes. "Alright. I'll claim that I believed there was a mole in the Council, and use the surveillance lacrimas' destruction as evidence. That's why I didn't inform the council of her involvement as a spy. Remind me again why I stick my neck out for you?"

"Because we're friends," Sado said.

"I suppose we are, aren't we?" Lahar sighed. "Alright. I'll let you know their decision."

Suddenly, Midnight and Natsu crashed into the wall, Natsu punching Midnight through it. Sado smiled, standing once again and helping Angel up, sighing as Mest took hold of her upper arm.

"Good luck Angel, Lahar," Sado said.

Angel and Lahar both nodded as the three of them vanished. Suddenly, Lucy's voice echoed through the area, complaining about being a giant fish.

"Wait, what?" Sado gaped.

"Lucy completely merged with the Infinity Clock," Warren's voice said. "But there's a way we might be able to fix it. If the Celestial Wizards that had the organic link magic are all awakened again, the clock should break apart again on its own, without hurting Lucy."

"How?" Lucy's voice asked.

"If she were to alter the wizards perception of time to it being a hundred years from now, that should wake them up and cause the clock pieces to break apart and be sent flying," Warren said.

"Wait a minute!" Natsu shouted. "This could send Lucy flying too!"

"I'll do it!" Lucy said. "I'm not afraid! After all, I'm a Fairy Tail Wizard!"

Light began to shine from the orange orb and Sado shielded his eyes. Then, he grabbed Ur, using his Fire Make magic to make a whip that grabbed Natsu, Elfman, Romeo, and Coco as well before jumping through a hole in the wall, falling through a massive tunnel until they were outside before extending his wings and stopping their fall. Happy flew out a moment later and a couple seconds after, the Infinity Castle exploded, millions of shooting stars flying across the sky.

"Anyone see Lucy?" Sado asked.

"There!" Natsu shouted, pointing.

Sado looked and saw her spinning through the air and grabbed the whip with both of his prosthetic hands.

"Go catch your girlfriend Natsu!" Sado shouted, spinning and hurling Natsu to Lucy. He caught her and she stirred in his arms before wrapping her own around him and kissing her. Then, Sado caught Natsu by the back of the shirt a few feet above the ground, stopping their fall before setting them down, the others all dropping to the ground as well. Just as Sado landed, his arms and legs shattered.

"Dammit!" Sado grumbled. "Ur!"

Ur laughed for a moment before reforming them and Sado stood, rubbing his tailbone where he had landed on a rock.

"Now that the clock bullshit is over, I'm going to go to sleep," Sado said. I have a full week or more before my arms and legs grow back, according to Angel, so I'm going to try and be awake for as little of it as I can."

"Your limbs are going to grow back?" Natsu asked. "Are you a lizard?"

"It's because of her Angel Magic," Sado said. "And it's a one-time thing."

"I see," Ur nodded. "Well, have a nice week-long nap."

"I intend to," Sado said.

Just then, Mira landed beside him, hugging him, and he hugged her back.

"I'm glad you're okay," Mira said.

"I could say the same to you," Sado said. "Did Racer give you a hard time?"

"Not really," Mira said. "Far less than Angel did you."

Sado chuckled sheepishly as Mira turned to glare at him.

"I thought you promised me to stay away from her and her Angel Magic," Mira said.

"Well..." Sado said, scratching the back of his head. "I didn't really have an option, since one of her angels was targeting me. Besides, it worked out well. I managed to get her to switch sides."

"Oh really?" Mira asked. "And how much did you have to flirt for that?"

Sado glanced to the side to find the others all grinning evilly at him while walking away. "None, I swear."

"Oh I'm sure," Mira said.

"Come on Mira," Sado said. "You know I'd never do that to you."

Mira glared at him for another moment, Sado almost swearing she had a pony tail and a black belly shirt on again, before sighing and smiling, hugging him again. "You're right. I was just worried is all. I love you Sado."

"I love you too," Sado smiled.

* * *

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	58. Chapter 58

I do not own any of the original Fairy Tail characters.

* * *

Training Plan

Sado sighed as he watched the Legion Platoon walk away. He was going to miss Coco. And Mary Hughes, shockingly. When she wasn't controlling him to make him punch himself of his friends, she was actually pretty fun. He was glad that Byro had somehow had a change of heart, but he was still reeling from the shock of Byro formally forgiving him for wha he had done in the past, as well as apologizing for trying to kill him twice. As a show of something between acceptance, friendship, and peace, Sado had given him a staff to replace the one Gildarts had broken. It was one that Mystogan had once used but had left behind in the old Fairy Tail guild hall. It was metal, unlike Byro's previous one, and was formed out of two pieces of metal twisted together tightly for most of it, then loosely at the top, leaving a gap where a magic-storing lacrima was placed with the metal twisted around it, then connected at the top to hold the lacrima in place.

"So, now what?" Mira asked.

Sado stared at his arms, healed to about mid-forearm during the last four days. In addition, the good news had come in from Lahar that he was allowed in Fairy Tail again. Now, he, Mira, Laxus, and now Ur were all a part of the Devil's Claw team and sub-guild within Fairy Tail. Laxus wasn't an official member of Fairy Tail, but he _was_ allowed to continue being a member of Devil's Claw. Lahar had also informed Sado that the council had accepted his story of Angel being a spy within the Oracion Seis, and would be released in a couple of months, so long as she behaved herself.

"I still want to sleep the week away," Sado said. "But there's a couple of things I still gotta take care of."

"Like what?" Mira asked.

"Well, for one thing, there's a package I have to deliver," Sado said. "Hey Ur, would you mind?"

Ur smirked and formed him his prosthetics before Sado left the guild hall, walking through Magnolia to the jewelry store where he had gotten Mira's necklace. The jeweler looked up at him and smiled.

"There you are," the jeweler said. "It's all finished. So long as they keep it on, the magic will hold."

Sado nodded and payed the jeweler, who handed Sado a braid necklace with a glowing pink lacrima in the center. Once Sado had that, he left, heading to Lucy's apartment and knocking. She opened the door and her eyes widened in surprise.

"Hey guys, what's up?" Lucy asked.

"I got you something," Sado said, holding out the necklace, Lucy blushing instantly and Mira glaring daggers at him.

"Excuse me?" both women said, though for opposite reasons.

"Relax," Sado said. "It's for Michelle. It'll turn her back into a human so long as she wears it."

"Wait, what?" Lucy gaped. "You had a necklace made to make Michelle human again?"

"Yeah," Sado nodded. "She tried to save you in the end, so it makes sense that she should get a chance to be happy too."

Lucy smiled, taking the necklace as Mira sighed, slipping her hand into Sado's.

"You could have let me in on the surprise," Mira said.

"I know," Sado said. "Sorry. I guess I should have."

"It's alright," Mira sighed.

A moment later, there was a squeal of delight and Michelle came flying down the stairs and hit Sado with a flying hug, Sado barely managing to hold himself up. After a moment, she stepped back as Lucy arrived, smiling.

"Come on," Sado said. "Let's go reintroduce you to the others."

They all nodded and headed back to the guid, the entirety of the guild greeting Michelle as enthusiastically as she had greeted Sado. Once Sado's good deed for the day was done, he walked to his chair and sat down, Mira sitting in his lap as he picked up a beer, sipping at it.

"I wish you'd stop that," Mira said.

"I will," Sado promised. "Once my limbs have finished regrowing and I can walk and do things without needing Ur or Gray's help, I'll stop drinking."

Mira nodded and rested her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes, drifting off for a nap. After a few more minutes, Sado set the beer down and picked Mira up, carrying her outside and flying them to the Devil's Claw guild hall, setting her in one of the beds upstairs before lying beside her, pulling the blankets up over them and passing out as well.

* * *

Sado smirked as Makarov stared at Mira in shock and confusion. He had just gotten done announcing Gildarts as the fifth guild master, and Gildarts was nowhere to be found.

"Where the hell is Gildarts!?" Makarov demanded.

"I don't really know," Mira said, holding up a letter. "But he left this."

Makarov took the letter as Mira walked over to Sado, slipping her hand into his, smiling at the feeling of her skin on his again. It wasn't complete, his fingers had only just started to regrow, but within another day or so, he'd be back to normal. Finally. His feet were actually finished already.

Sado listened as Makarov read Gildarts' letter, Gildarts apologizing but saying being guild master wasn't his style, then saying that he _did_ have two orders to give while he was the guild master. First, he reappointed Laxus as a Fairy Tail wizard. Second, he appointed Makarov as the _sixth_ Fairy Tail guild master. Makarov was fuming, but said nothing about Laxus being in the guild again.

"Well alright then," Sado said. "Congratulations Laxus. Welcome back to Fairy Tail for real. I guess that means I need to start finding new members for me and Mira's team then."

"Nah," Laxus said. "I'll keep the mark. And if you need me, I'll still come help. It's the least I can do to repay you for what happened. Besides, now that it's not a guild anymore, it's not like you're in charge of me anyway."

Sado snorted in amusement and shook his head. "True enough."

"Cana, this is for you," Mira said, handing Cana a second envelope.

Cana opened it, pulling out a telepathic link card with Gildarts' picture on it and a letter saying she could call him any time she needed him and he'd come running. She gripped the card with both hands but stopped as Sado set his on top of hers.

"Don't rip it," Sado said. "You may not care if things are different from before, but keep the card, just in case."

Cana was silent for a moment before nodding. She slipped the card into her deck and smiled. "Thank you Sado. I suppose having the gild's most powerful fighter at my beck and call _could_ be useful."

"That's not exactly what I meant," Sado said, Cana grinning knowingly.

"So, I heard a rumor that a certain event was coming up soon," Sado said, turning to Macao, who sprayed beer across the counter and turned to him.

"Romeo, right?" Macao asked.

"That's right," Sado nodded. "Well?"

"No," Macao said. "I swore that we'd never take part in the Grand Magic Games again."

"The Grand what?" Makarov asked.

"It's a tournament between magic guilds," Macao sighed. "It's held once a year so the guilds can prove who's strongest without having an all-out war like we did with Phantom Lord back in the day. But the last time we entered, we were beaten senseless. It's how we first became the weakest guild. And ever since, we've just been a laughing stock."

"I see," Makarov said as the doors opened and Natsu, Gray, Lucy, Wendy, Happy, and Carla got back from their trip to Porlyusica's to see if she could make them stronger. "I'm not completely convinced that we could win given our current state of disarray."

"That's what I'm saying," Macao said.

"Yeah but if we _do_ win then the guild will get thirty million jewel in prize money," Romeo said.

"We're in!" Makarov said.

"In what?" Natsu asked.

"A magic tournament between guilds," Sado said, Natsu grinning instantly.

"Oh hell yes!" Natsu grinned. "This is going to be fun! When's this thing going down?"

"Three months," Romeo said.

"Perfect," Sado said. "Plenty of time to train. Natsu, once my fingers grow back, I'm training you personally, as is Laxus, since you spontaneously have access to Lightning Fire Dragon Slayer mode now. Would have been helpful a few times before now, but hey, who am I to judge. Anyway, while that's going on, Ur, I want you to train me in maker magic some more. I'm nowhere near your skill."

"Sure," Ur smiled. "And I'll train you too, Gray."

"What about me?" Juvia asked.

"You can train with us too," Gray said. "Who knows. Maybe we can even teach you Water Make Magic."

Juvia smiled and Sado turned to Wendy and Lucy.

"What are you holding?" Sado asked.

"It's a book of spells left to me by Grandeeney," Wendy said.

"I see," Sado nodded. "Okay then. You can learn those. Mira, you're going to train with me. I have a...special kind of training I want to try with you."

"Ew, gross!" Romeo shouted, Wendy suddenly covering her ears, her face scarlet.

"Don't talk about that in front of us!" Lisanna said, blushing profusely.

"It's not like that!" Sado snapped. "I actually mean training, but it requires her Demon Factor. Anyway, Erza, you're going to train with Lucy. Lisanna and Elfman will train together and with Mira when she's free. Elfman, I heard you have some new full-body take overs."

"That's right," Elfman said. "Courtesy of that Grimoire Heart creep with the imagination powers."

"Good," Sado nodded. "You'd better get good with them all. Because you're going to need them all."

"Right," Elfman nodded.

"Alright then," Natsu said. "We've got a plan. No point in waiting around here. Let's get training!"

"I agree," Erza said. "The sooner we begin the better."

Sado nodded, standing. "We'd better leave the city for this, Natsu. You and I have a habit of destroying things."

Natsu nodded, grinning, and the groups he had specified all left to begin training, most of them going with Sado, since he had accidentally put himself at the center of the training groups.

* * *

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	59. Chapter 59

I do not own any of the original Fairy Tail characters.

* * *

Training

Sado inhaled then waited, holding his breath. Across from him, Natsu was doing the same.

"Why are you holding your breath?" Carla asked from where she was watching beside Wendy, who was reading through her spells.

Sado grinned and nodded, both he and Natsu exhaling. Sado's flames were pure white, and Natsu's while no different in color, still managed to hold Sado's usually much stronger flames back. Once the blasts had ended, Natsu grinned.

"Alright, now that we're all warmed up," Natsu grinned, flames bursting to life on his hands.

"Wait, what?" Carla gaped. "Warmed up? But you both only threw one attack!"

"That's why we held our breath," Sado said. "The flames literally warmed us up."

"That's...actually not a bad idea," Carla said.

"Alright," Sado said. "Laxus, you ready?"

"So Natsu's going to try to take us both on today?" Laxus grinned. "Well, for his sake, I hope the last week of training with you did a lot more for him than I think."

Sado smirked. "This week has done a lot for everyone."

Sado placed his hands together, Natsu crouching and readying himself as Laxus grinned, lightning flying off of him. Then, Sado separated his hands and slammed them into the ground, massive thorn-covered vines made of flame bursting out of the ground around Natsu, who spun, inhaling the flames then exhaling them at Laxus. Laxus easily avoided the strike, only for Natsu to appear in front of him, throwing a punch. Laxus avoided it and punched at Natsu, but Natsu caught it, slamming a knee into Laxus's gut and throwing him away. Then, he spun, diverting a punch from Sado and slamming a punch into Sado's ribs, at the same time as Sado's knee slammed into the side of Natsu's head. Natsu staggered sideways and Laxus appeared beside him, punching at him.

Natsu flipped over the punch, his flaming foot crashing into Laxus's back and hurling him forward into Sado, both crashing to the ground. "Fire Dragon, Brilliant Flame!"

Sado exhaled a stream of pure white flames into Natsu's fireball, making it explode and blast Natsu back into the ground. Natsu groaned, his arms burned badly.

"Holy shit Sado!" Lucy shouted. "Overboard much!?"

"Relax," Natsu said, lighting the grass on fire then inhaling that fire, his arms healing. "I didn't train with him for a full week without rest for nothing you know."

"Oh wow," Lucy breathed. "You healed that much from such a small amount of flames?"

"Yup," Sado grinned. "I also learned to do this."

He slammed his flaming hands into the ground, the ground around them quickly melting into magma. Then, he yanked his hands upward and the ground exploded into a trail of lava headed for Sado, who formed himself a Fire Make Shield, blocking the blast.

"Alright," Laxus said. "The kid's improved. I think that's enough for now, don't you?"

"Yeah," Sado said, inhaling and pulling fire out of the lava Natsu had created, swallowing it and feeling his own strength returning. "I can't wait to stop doing that."

"Time to rest," Natsu said. "A week of training is great and all, but I'm exhausted. Running on borrowed flames is only good for so long."

"I agree," Sado said. "Laxus, starting tomorrow, I'm training with Mira. I need you to help Natsu learn to control his Lightning Fire Dragon Mode without exhausting himself."

"Sure," Laxus nodded. "Good luck with your plan."

"Thanks," Sado smiled. "I really hope this ends well."

"So do I," Laxus said. "I don't want to have to fight her like that."

Sado nodded, understanding perfectly. Then, he returned to Mira's house where Mira and Lisanna were preparing dinner.

"Welcome home," Mira smiled. "Are you and Natsu done training?"

"Yeah," Sado nodded. "I'm going to sleep after dinner. Then tomorrow, it's our turn."

Mira nodded and, true to his word, Sado passed out the moment his head hit the pillow after dinner.

* * *

Sado watched carefully as the purple light faded from Mira. She stepped back, taking several moments with her eyes closed before trying out her new transformation. In addition to the usual golden light, flames exploded up around her in a ring, reaching high into the air. Then, the flames fell to a few inches high, spiraling around her. Her transformation was a lot different than he had expected. He had expected flames, glowing red eyes, an evil aura, usual stereotypical devil traits. Instead, she had _his_ devil traits. She had his hands, his feet, his horns, his tail. She hadn't grown his flame cuirass, though, he liked what she had much better. The flames formed around her feet continued up her legs until mid-thigh, and there were flames forming the same one-piece that she usually wore as her normal transformation, except that unlike that transformation, this one had no ribbon around her neck, no straps around her arms, flames reaching up around her head like her normal collar except constantly shifting, and her hair fell behind her like her human form or her Demon Halphas form.

"How do you feel?" Sado asked.

"Like I might accidentally break the ground if I walk," Mira said.

Sado's eyes widened. Unlike her other She Devil forms, in this one, her voice was unchanged.

He grinned. "Alright. Let's teach you to control those flames, shall we?"

Mira nodded, smiling, and Sado briefly described how to generate wings to her, Mira picking it up quickly. Then, he shot into the air, Mira streaking after him. Once they were high enough that he'd be able to control Mira's inevitable collateral damage, Sado turned to her, the two both nodding before beginning to fight. Sado had to admit two things. First was that she picked up controlling the flames a hell of a lot faster than he did. Second, was that he definitely did _not_ like fighting her in that form. After barely an hour, he was exhausted, and Mira was still going strong.

"I thought I was supposed to be the strong one," Sado complained as they landed outside the Fairy Tail guild hall for a break, Mira having switched back to her normal She Devil form to keep the new one secret for now.

"You are," Mira smiled. "I've just added your strength to my own. That's all."

"That means you're stronger," Sado groaned.

Mira smiled, squeezing his hand as they stopped at the bar, both getting food and Sado lighting his on fire. After about an hour, they went back outside and returned to training.

* * *

Sado watched as Natsu and Laxus fought, Natsu actually holding his own rather well. Then, he turned back to Gray and Juvia, watching as they had a Maker Magic fight. Because she had been able to effortlessly control water all her life, Juvia's control over her Water Make Magic was exceptional. It was her imagination and her tendency to revert to her original magic that was a problem.

"Focus Sado," Ur said. "Ice Make Rose Garden!"

"Fire Make Wall!" Sado shouted.

Ur's ice halted as it crashed into Sado's flames. Both shattered and Sado sent a pack of wolves charging at her. Ur smirked.

"Ice Make Tiger!" Ur said, sending out as many tigers as Sado sent wolves.

The animals crashed into each other, bursting into clouds of steam and dust. Then, several dozen ice rose vines burst out of the ground around Sado, binding him in place.

"You're strong," Ur said. "You've improved your skills quite a lot. But you're still decades from beating me."

"Well no shit," Sado snorted. "You're Ur. You're currently being considered for the Ten Wizard Saints. Of course I can't beat you with my maker magic."

He tapped into his devil power and lifted his arms, breaking free instantly before reverting back, placing his hands together. "Fire Make Devil!"

Ur leapt back as seven flaming humanoids formed, scattering and each beginning to launch fireballs at Ur rapidly, Ur blocking them with ice shields. Suddenly, all of them skidded to a stop, forming a circle around her with two of them standing beside each other opposite Sado.

"Game, set, match," Sado grinned as flames sprung to life around Ur forming a giant pentagram. "And from here, I cause a massive devastating explosion that instantly vaporizes you." He snapped his fingers and the flames, along with the flame humanoids, all went out. "Not bad huh?"

"Not bad at all," Ur commended. "Granted, that wasn't only Maker Magic, so I win the sparring match by default."

"Cheater," Sado huffed.

"Just how hot can you make your flames anyway?" Ur asked as they were walking back toward the guild hall.

"I haven't been able to really push them since my fight with the Devil Slayers, but when I fought Acnologia they were as hot as the surface of the sun. Then with the Devil Slayers, about the temperature of Sirius A's surface, which is about double the sun's heat." Sado thought for a moment. "If I could go all out without worrying about hurting anyone around me, I think I might be able to get somewhere around fifty, maybe sixty million degrees fahrenheit."

"You're joking right?" Ur asked. "Nothing, including the planet, would be able to withstand that kind of heat. I don't even think your own body could hold that much power and survive."

"Maybe," Sado shrugged. "Granted, I am a devil, and Hell _is_ known for being a pit of unrivaled flame."

"True," Ur said, looking around. "Can you believe it's only been about a month since we started training?"

"Nope," Sado smiled. "Natsu's usual team and I are all heading to Akane soon. You sure you don't want to come?"

"No thanks," Ur smiled. "I think I might go and pay Lyon a visit. I get to see Gray all the time, but Lyon was my student as well."

"Invite him to Fairy Tail while you're there," Sado said. "It'd definitely help us in the games."

Ur laughed. "That's true, but I doubt it'd be that easy to get him to join us. Anyway, I have to go."

"Have fun doing whatever," Sado said. "I think I'll check on Mira."

* * *

Sado stared at the Celestial Spirit King in silence. A party? They had been taken away from Akane Resort, away from their training, for a party? With Celestial Spirits? He turned to Virgo, who had claimed the Celestial Spirit World had been on the brink of destruction in order to get them there.

"Anything you'd like to say?" Sado asked.

"I lied," Virgo said. "Would you like to punish me?"

"Nah," Sado said. "A party sounds pretty nice."

Virgo smiled and nodded. The Celestial Spirit King snapped his fingers and moments later, there were spirits by the hundreds around them, already in the middle of a party. There was a feast prepared and waiting, a wall of books off to one side, hundreds of Plue's kind to show everyone as much affection and enthusiasm as a puppy minus the licking, and Lyra began to sing for them. Sado grinned, grabbing a goblet and filling it with wine before walking over to Levy and asking to borrow her speed-reading glasses. She handed them over to him and he walked over to the books, where Lucy's cross-headed spirit was floating.

"Mind if I read them all?" Sado asked.

The spirit looked at him like he was crazy before shrugging. So, Sado grabbed the first book, put the glasses on and skimmed through it, his brain absorbing the knowledge from the book in seconds. Same with the second, then the third, then the dozen after that. Finally, he stopped, looking around. The cross was staring at him in awe while the others were partying. He made his way to the feast, reaching for the meat only to find a teary-eyed Natsu staring at him.

"What?" Sado asked.

"That's crab and lamb," Natsu said, Sado's eyes flicking to Cancer and Aries.

He set the meat back down and stood, walking away from the table to Loke instead. "So, Loke, how're things with you and Aries?"

"Uh...well..." Loke rubbed the back of his head. "I haven't really...been able to make a move. I just...don't want to lose her as a friend if she doesn't feel the same."

At that moment, Aries noticed that she was being watched and looked over, blushing bright pink but smiling and waving. Sado and Loke both lifted a hand as well, turning away from her as she returned her attention to the party.

"Is she worth the risk?" Sado asked. "Is having her as more than a friend worth the ridiculously slim chance that she doesn't feel the same, or that she would want to stop being friends because you care about her more than as friends?"

"I...yes," Loke said. "It _is_ worth that risk. Though, when you word it that way, the risk seems...decidedly foolish."

"I'm glad you think so," Sado said. "Now, allow me to play my favorite game for a few minutes, and I might get her to kiss you first so that you don't have to worry about anything."

"What game?" Loke asked.

"Matchmaker, duh," Sado said. "I know you've seen me and Mira do it before."

"True," Loke snorted. "You two have a gift with that."

Sado grinned, walking away and over to Aries. She blushed as he arrived but turned to him and smiled.

"Hello," Aries said. "I don't think we've been properly introduced. I'm Aries."

"I'm Sado," Sado said. "Can I talk to you alone for a minute?"

"Sure," Aries nodded, still blushing and timid.

They walked away from the party a ways and Sado turned to her, smiling.

"So, a friend of mine was talking about you, and saying how much they wanted to ask you out, but that they were afraid of how you would react," Sado said.

Aries' entire face turned crimson. "I-I'm s-sorry. I-I c-can't date a-anyone. Y-You see, I..."

"You're in love," Sado guessed when she trailed off.

Aries blushed even darker but nodded. "Y-Yes. I-I'm s-sorry."

"Oh don't worry about me," Sado said. "I just have one question."

"W-What?" Aries asked.

"Is it Leo?" Sado asked.

Aries' face turned so dark he thought she might faint. "N-N-N-No! I-I-I...I m-m-mean...H-H-How did you kn-n-now?"

Sado grinned widely. "Well, you're most timid when you're around him, and I was able to see you sneaking glances at him whenever he wasn't looking."

"I-I see," Aries said.

"Here," Sado said, holding out his water bottle.

"Water?" Aries asked. "N-No thank you. I'm not thirsty."

"It's actually not water," Sado grinned. "It's ninety eight percent alcohol."

"O-Oh," Aries said. "I-I don't d-drink."

"Well this is for courage," Sado said.

"W-Why?" Aries asked.

"The friend I mentioned before, it's Leo," Sado said. "He's too afraid to tell you how he feels, afraid he'll lose you completely if you reject him. So, he hides it by flirting with Lucy. I'm giving you this so that you can go and kiss him and force him to show you how he feels."

Aries snatched the bottle, draining over half of it before giving it back, blushing. "I-It's n-not as strong as I thought it'd be."

"I added a couple of ingredients to take the kick away," Sado said. "Now, go get him."

Aries blushed again but returned to the party, quickly finding Loke and walking over to him, Sado stopping a little distance away to watch things play out. And play out they did. As Loke turned toward Aries and tried to speak, she all but flung herself at him, mashing her lips to his instantly. After a long moment of stunned silence from everyone, Loke's arms wrapped around her and they both vanished. Lyra, who'd been too shocked to sing or play, slowly grinned and began to play again. Just like that, a deafening cheer erupted among the spirits and the party was back on. However, suddenly, something occurred to Sado. How close was the flow of time? Just because the worlds were connected didn't mean time was the same.

He handed Levy her glasses, since she was reading a book beside him the normal way, and then walked over to the edge of the platform beyond which the Celestial Spirit King floated.

"Excuse me, your majesty?" Sado asked.

"Yes?" he asked kindly.

"How close is the flow of time here compared to our world?" Sado asked.

"Well," the Celestial Spirit King said, thinking. "A day here is about...three months in your world."

All of the humans froze suddenly, staring up at him. Then, they all sprinted to the area they had entered through.

"Thank you for your hospitality! We gotta run! Goodbye!" Lucy said. "Virgo, send us home!"

Virgo bowed and they all faded, reappearing back on the beach of Akane, staring out at the water.

"There you are!" Jet's voice shouted. "Finally!"

"We've been waiting here forever!" Droy said.

"How long do we have!?" Sado demanded, grabbing Jet by the shoulders.

"Three days!" Jet said.

Sado released him, falling onto his rear and sighing. "We made it. Thank God."

"But we just lost two months of training time!" Natsu said.

"Natsu, you can fight almost on par with Laxus at two thirds of his strength now," Sado said. "I think you're set."

"True," Natsu said.

Just then, a bird landed on Sado's head and he reached up and pulled it down, pulling a note off of its ankle before putting it back on his head. "Fairy Tail. You'd better come to the broken suspension bridge on the western hill."

"Dumb note's not the boss of us," Natsu said.

"No kiddin'," Gray agreed. "I don't care for their tone. Not one bit."

"What should we do?" Wendy asked.

"Why ignore it of course," Carla said.

"I think we should go there," Erza said.

"You know, this sounds like a trap to me," Levy spoke up.

"I'm with Levy," Lucy said. "This has trap written all over it."

"We'll just have to see," Erza said.

"Awesome," Sado said, burning the paper and tossing it to Natsu, who happily ate it. "Let's go then."

A few minutes later, they were standing at the edge of a cliff near a broken suspension bridge, watching the water rush by below them.

"I could make us a bridge," Sado offered. "Or Gray could."

Suddenly, the bridge began to glow white and pieces of it shot up out of the water, beginning to restore the bridge.

"It seems there's no need," Erza said.

"Hey," Sado said, grinning widely. "That's Arc of Time!"

"Ultear!" Gray realized. "And here we are without Ur."

"Let's go!" Sado smiled, walking confidently out onto the newly restored bridge, Gray following as the others all stared at them like they were crazy.

But, after several moments, the others all followed. They began to walk through the woods on the other side, Sado's pleasant smile not leaving his face, his hands behind his head. Finally, they all stopped as three cloaked figures walked toward them from further along the trail. Sado smiled even wider as he realized who was leading the group. They all lowered their hoods and revealed Ultear and Melody in the back and Jellal in the front.

"You came," Jellal said. "Thank you."

* * *

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	60. Chapter 60

I do not own any of the original Fairy Tail characters.

* * *

Crime Sorciere

"You came," Jellal said. "Thank you."

"It's you," Erza breathed.

"You haven't changed, Erza," Jellal said. "I take it word of my prison break reached you some time ago."

"Yes," Erza said.

"Please know I never intended to escape," Jellal said.

"Melody and I didn't give him much of a choice in the matter," Ultear said.

"That was all you Ultear," Melody smiled. "Don't lump me into your criminal behavior." She looked to the side, seeing Juvia and smiling warmly. "Long time no see Juvia."

Juvia stared at her in surprise before smiling and nodding.

"Jellal broke out of prison?" Lucy asked.

"And with Grimoire Heart no less," Natsu growled.

"Chill out," Gray said. "They're not our enemies anymore. Isn't that right?"

"Yes," Ultear said. "I committed many sins as a member of Grimoire Heart. So many I doubt I could ever atone for all of them."

"Welcome to the club," Sado said, Ultear smirking at him and shaking her head slightly.

"Because of that, I've dedicated my life to bringing some measure of peace to as many lives as I can, until the day I die," Ultear said.

"You risked so much to break Jellal out of prison," Wendy said.

"Because Jellal is one of them," Ultear said.

"You don't owe me anything Ultear," Jellal said. "We were both possessed by darkness. It's in the past now."

"Jellal, has your memory returned?" Erza asked.

"Every bit of it," Jellal said. "Including my sins."

Erza's eyes widened as Sado's narrowed slightly. Once again, Sado could relate. He had more in common with these three than he did his friends in Fairy Tail, minus Mira.

"Six whole years I've been living with the guilt," Jellal said. "Erza, I'm sorry. But words can't erase your pain."

"I was the one controlling Jellal during the Tower of Heaven incident," Ultear admitted. "The blame is mine, so don't punish him. Besides, I think he's been through enough as it is."

"I could either spend the rest of my life in prison, or lose my life and be done with it," Jellal said. "Whatever happened, at least my penance would have been payed."

"But now that you're free you have a chance to try to find a positive purpose in your life," Wendy said.

"Wendy, there's no easy way to say this but the Jellal you knew, he's someone else entirely," Jellal said.

"Oh yeah don't worry," Wendy said. "We cleared that up a while back."

"I've found a purpose," Jellal said. "But I'm not sure that I'd call it completely positive."

"The three of us have formed a guild of our own," Ultear said. "It's an independent guild. Neither officially recognized nor aligned with anyone. It's name is Crime Sorciere, or Witch's Crime."

"An independent guild?" Levy asked.

"What does that mean?" Happy asked.

"You're not affiliated with any alliances?" Carla asked.

"Crime Sorciere?" Droy asked. "I've heard of you."

"Yeah, you guys have taken down a bunch of Dark Guilds over the past few years," Jet said.

"Unfortunately, our one true goal eludes us," Ultear said.

"Zeref," Jellal said, everyone staring in shock. "Dark guilds, and any evil force in the world that seeks to end the lives of innocents. We'll purge every one of them so that no one will ever be possessed by his darkness again."

"You realize that Zeref isn't the source of evil, only a victim of it, right?" Sado asked.

"It doesn't matter," Jellal said. "He is purely evil. He must be destroyed."

"That's a seriously righteous cause," Lucy said.

"With all the good you've done, I'm surprised the Magic Council won't accept you," Gray said.

"I am a convict," Jellal pointed out.

"And Ultear and I _did_ used to be in Grimoire Heart," Melody said.

"It would be like me trying to be chairman of the council," Sado said. "They'd sooner kill themselves than allow it."

"Yes," Jellal said. "About that. I remember what you are now."

Sado turned to him, one hand behind his back with a fireball in his palm. He wasn't sure if he could still hold his own against Jellal. But he'd be damned if he went down without a fight.

"If you wish, we would welcome you into our guild," Jellal said. "You, too, have sins you wish to erase. You would be an excellent addition."

Sado smiled, letting his fireball fade. "Sorry, but I'm happy in Fairy Tail. Although, I may have a favor to ask of you."

"What's that?" Jellal asked.

"You're still a ridiculous powerhouse that wields Heavenly Body Magic, right?" Sado asked.

"I am," Jellal nodded.

"Would you consider joining my team in Fairy Tail?" Sado asked, everyone staring at him. "In name, mostly, and not joining Fairy Tail, necessarily. But...well...the reason for the team, which is called Devil's Claw, is that...there's at least one Devil Slayer, if not a whole lot more, hunting me. And I would like to have as many of the absolute strongest mages I can find to help me fight them whenever they come calling, since we can't find them. The crest for Devil's Claw is more of a distress signal than anything. It's so that if we're not all together when the attack comes, we can call the others to us. If you wouldn't mind, I'd like to have your help as well."

Jellal stared at him before looking to the others.

"Don't look at me," Natsu said. "I didn't get an invite."

"Neither did I," Erza said, watching Sado skeptically. "So far, the other members are Mirajane Strauss, Laxus Dreyer, and Ur."

"I see," Jellal nodded. "Very well. I accept. Give me the crest and I will help you when the time comes."

Sado pulled out the stamp and Jellal pulled up his sleeve, allowing Sado to stamp the outside of his forearm. Then, he put the stamp away and looked to the three independent wizards.

"Now, I assume there was a reason you called us here other than for me to hire you and for you to tell us about Crime Sorciere?" Sado asked.

"Yes," Jellal nodded. "Is it true you'll be entering the Grand Magic Games this year?"

"It is," Sado nodded. "Let me guess, you want us to sneak Jellal in by having him pose as Mystogan."

Everyone stared at him, then at Jellal.

"Actually, that's not a bad idea," Jellal said. "But no, the reason we ask is because every year we sense unusual magic power during the games. We want you to find out what's behind it."

"Are you guys for real?" Natsu asked.

"Wizards from all over the world gather during the games," Lucy said. "The place is absolutely _full_ of magic."

"Don't you guys think you're being just a little paranoid?" Levy asked.

"We wouldn't ask if we weren't absolutely certain," Jellal said. "What's more, the power we've been sensing is not only evil, but reminiscent of Zeref."

"Zeref?" Erza asked. "Are you sure that it's related?"

"We believe that our prior involvements give us the ability to perceive any trace of his powers," Jellal said.

"I'm game," Sado said. "Although, if we happen to run into Zeref, I can't promise that we'll be able to fight him and live. Or that he won't have a way to control me due to my...special circumstances."

"I understand," Jellal said. "We don't expect you to find Zeref himself, but we do believe that there is something going on that may help _us_ locate him."

"Got it," Sado nodded.

"And you'll be compensated for this, of course," Melody said. "Just like any other job. Discretion is important. We don't want the culprit to know we're onto them. So we'll be rooting for you from behind the scenes."

"Sounds like a wild goose chase, but we'll do it," Erza said.

"You sure about this Erza?" Gray asked.

"We're going there anyway, right?" Sado shrugged. "Why not help out our friends?"

"Friends?" Jellal blinked before smiling. "I see. You're surprisingly kind hearted for a devil."

"You're awfully humble for a man that could blow almost all of us away with a flick of the wrist," Sado retorted.

"What does he mean devil?" Jet and droy asked.

"It's nothing!" Levy said hurriedly.

"Did we mention we'll be paying up front?" Ultear asked.

"Fun money!" Lucy, Happy, and Natsu cheered.

"Oh no, nothing so material," Ultear chuckled, holding out her crystal ball. "I've had years to improve upon my Arc of Time magic and can use it to improve your abilities. A power up. At least, that's one way to put it."

"Wait, you can affect living beings now?" Sado asked.

"That's right," Ultear nodded.

"Yup, I'm never fighting you again," Sado said.

Ultear chuckled, shaking her head. "As I was saying, Wizards possess something like an internal container that determines how much magical power they can have, though it's depleted with every spell you cast. Your body naturally draws in the Ethernano from the surrounding atmosphere, and continues to do so until the container is full again. But, recent research shows that there's a part of this container, and the magic it holds, that goes unused. A reservoir of dormant power. They've come to call these hidden troves of magic, the Second Origin."

"Seriously?" Natsu asked.

"Not only can my Arc of Time force your containers to grow, but I can also allow you access to your Second Origin," Ultear said. "Simply put, you'll not only be able to use more powerful magic, you'll be able to keep using it for longer periods of time."

Everyone cheered.

"Whatever you said, I like it!" Natsu said.

"Be ready, unlocking your Second Origin involves unimaginable pain," Ultear said.

"Dude that's totally awesome!" Natsu shouted, flinging his arms around Ultear dramatically. "I know we've had our problems in the past but that's water under the bridge. By the way I'm totally cool with you pretending to be a chick."

"What do you mean pretending!?" Ultear demanded.

"He still thinks she's an old man?" Gray gaped.

Sado dragged Natsu off of Ultear and smacked him over the head. "Natsu, listen closely, okay? The old guy you fought was a disguise. Ultear is a girl. Not a guy."

"Oohh," Natsu said. "My bad. Sorry about that."

"Ugh, you're such an idiot!" Ultear said.

"Let's head back to the beach," Sado said, flicking his eyes toward Erza and Jellal, Ultear nodding once. "We can get started there. I'm sure Natsu wants to go first."

"Hell yeah!" Natsu grinned.

A few minutes later, as they stood on the beach and Ultear worked on Natsu's magic reservoir and Second Origin, he writhed around on the ground, struggling to be able to even scream as glowing red lines covered his body.

"I hope whatever we just signed up for is worth it," Gray said.

"This doesn't seem like very effective advertising," Lucy agreed.

"Just hang in there Natsu," Ultear said. "I know it hurts but you've got a long way to go."

"Just what kind of pain is he feeling?" Gray asked.

"Want to Sensory Link with him and find out?" Melody offered.

"Are you crazy?" Gray asked.

"I'll do it," Sado said.

"You're insane!" Gray gaped.

Melody placed the sensory link and agony flooded Sado, his body locking up. He groaned for a moment before gritting his teeth and shaking his head. Melody ended the link and Sado bent forward, panting.

"Jesus," Sado said. "I think I'd rather be shot by an angel again."

"How bad?" Gray asked.

"Scale of one to a hundred?" Sado asked, Gray nodding. "About fifty thousand. Ultear, I have a question. Do I even have a Second Origin? I'm not exactly a normal wizard."

"That's true," Ultear nodded, beckoning him over then holding out her hand and scanning him with her Arc of Time magic. "You do. And yours is going to be far more painful than Natsu's. It's far larger."

"Will I still be able to control myself?" Sado asked.

"Honestly?" Ultear asked. "I have no idea."

"I see," Sado said. "Do you know how to cast a magic suppression spell?"

"I do," Ultear nodded.

"If I lose control, cast about five of them," Sado said.

Ultear nodded and returned her focus to Natsu. Then, one by one, she began the others. Finally, it was Sado's turn. Sado took a deep breath and nodded once before agony exploded through him and wiped away his sense of the world.

* * *

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	61. Chapter 61

I do not own any of the original Fairy Tail characters.

* * *

Preliminaries

Sado groaned, sitting down heavily against the wall of the Guild Hall. His entire body was still throbbing agonizingly from his Second Origin being opened, side effects of having a lot more magic naturally than the others according to Ultear's warning, but he was complaining no more than everyone else, who probably also felt like absolute shit at the moment.

"What are you just going to lay there?" Macao's voice suddenly asked, Sado looking up at the others.

"Yeah, get up on your feet like a real man!" Elfman said, his sideburns having gown down to his jaw then inward in small spikes, giving him the appearance of some human-monkey hybrid. He also had bulked up a lot.

Sado would have laughed if he wasn't in so much pain. He began to slowly push himself up and Mira hurried over, helping him to his feet.

"Are you okay?" Mira asked.

"I will be by the time the games start, I think," Sado said. "Currently feeling like my body's being ripped apart from the inside, though."

"What kind of training did you guys do?" Mira asked.

"The kind where we get trapped in the Spirit World for two months because it's less than a day there," Sado said. "And then to make up for lost time, we get our Second Origins forced open by someone that we never officially met."

"Second Origin?" Mira asked. "Does it hurt?"

"Agonizingly," Sado nodded.

"Good work everybody," Makarov said, stepping out of the building. "It looks like everyone trained hard for this year's games. But for right now, I'd like everybody to join me inside."

They all followed him, gathering around the bar, where Makarov had seated himself.

"Listen up kids," Makarov said. "It's time to announce the five who will be representing Fairy Tail in the Grand Magic Games."

"Only five?" Sado asked.

"Sado, Natsu, Gray, Erza, and Mirajane," Makarov listed.

"Alright, we might actually win this one," Max said.

"Yeah!" Elfman said. "At least we've got one real man in the game. And Mira too."

"What about Gajeel?" Sado asked. "Or Laxus? Or Gildarts? Especially Gildarts?"

"I wish I could but none of them have come back yet," Makarov said. "We'd have more of a fighting chance with Laxus or Gajeel on the team but my hands are tied here."

"We can hear what you're saying you know," Gray and Natsu both said.

"Anyway, time to hit the road," Makarov said.

Sado nodded and everyone packed, heading to the capital city. Once there, Levy read the rule book, explaining everything to them, mainly meaning that Makarov couldn't participate, everyone participating needed a guild seal, the games would be kept secret until the moment they were announced and explained before each game, and that all participants had to be back in their assigned hotels by midnight. After that, they split up. Natsu and Lucy went with Happy to explore the city, Erza went to inspect the hotel they were staying at, Gray and Juvia left to explore on their own, and Sado and Mira left to find something to eat. Once they had eaten, they also returned to the hotel, finding Erza in nothing but a towel, searching the room for something.

"Lose something?" Sado asked, covering his eyes. "Besides your clothes."

He heard the telltale sound of Erza requipping and peeked, seeing her in her armor again.

"Something feels off about the rule about midnight, and about this room," Erza said.

"I agree," Sado said. "Which is why if Natsu and Gray aren't back by midnight, my wolves are going to go and find them."

"Okay," Erza said.

Sado lay down on one of the beds, Mira lying with him. Sado yawned, gritting his teeth as his body throbbed more painfully than normal, but then it settled back down to normal hellish agony. He closed his eyes, drifting off to sleep, Mira following suit. Soon enough, Erza was shaking them awake.

"They're late," Erza said. "It's eleven thirty."

"Okay," Sado nodded, placing his hands together. "Fire Make Wolves."

Three wolves sprinted out of the hotel, sniffing around before taking off. About five minutes later, they skidded back into the room, Natsu, Lucy, and Gray on them and Happy flying along behind them. The wolves lay down, letting everyone off of them and the three all sat down on different beds.

"Why are you all late?" Erza asked.

"I lost track of time," Gray said.

"He was with Juvia," Sado corrected.

"We met a couple of other contestants," Lucy said. "Real nasty ones if you ask me."

"Who?" Sado asked, looking over at her.

"Some guys named Sting and Rogue," Lucy said. "They're Dragon Slayers who have lacrimas like Laxus, but who were also raised by dragons like Natsu and Gajeel."

"Yeah, right up until they killed them," Natsu snarled.

"They what?" Sado gaped. "But those were their parents!"

"That's what I said," Natsu said. "I can't wait to fight them. I'm gonna tear them apart."

Suddenly, the clock chimed midnight and a massive hologram of a pumpkin-headed being appeared over the city.

"Attention competitors, good morning!" the pumpkin sang.

"Oh great," Sado said. "That explains the time."

"In order to narrow down the one hundred and thirteen competing guilds to an easily managed eight, let's start the preliminary rounds."

"The what!?" everyone shouted.

"One hundred thirteen to eight?" Sado gaped. "What kind of bullshit are we doing?"

The pumpkin droned on in an odd way of speaking about the games being boring despite excessive numbers of guilds. Then, the hotel rose into the air on a massive pillar of metal rods and gears. Then, a pathway of wooden boards formed outside the window. As the pumpkin said something about a race.

"Eh, not that bad," Sado shrugged. "I'll just fly us all."

"Also, we are not responsible for any loss of life that happens in the labyrinth," the pumpkin said, Sado freezing.

"What!?" the others said.

"Did he just say labyrinth?" Sado shouted, staring out the window.

Suddenly, the castle was in a massive, floating, spherical labyrinth in the sky, which looked a mile wide. Sado growled in annoyance.

"Okay, fine," Sado said. "I'll blast our way to the center."

"We're not going to the center, we're going to the coliseum," Gray said.

"Really?" Sado groaned. "Fuck. Alright fine. Let's go."

"Right!" the others said.

They all sprinted along the pathway, Sado in the lead, followed by Mira, then Natsu, then Erza, and lastly Gray. As soon as they were inside, they stopped. The labyrinth was ridiculous. The paths consisted of stairs, floors, hallways, and doors, except that there was no sense of up or down. Everything was sitting at its own angle. Sado looked around.

"Which way was it?" Sado asked.

"If I remember correctly, the coliseum was to the East," Erza said.

Sado looked at the ground, turning toward the East and extending his wings. "We're not dealing with this bullshit. We're flying. Natsu, you're with me."

"I'll carry Gray," Mira said, transforming into her She Devil form.

Erza requipped into her Black Wing Armor and Sado took off in the lead, streaking over paths and past stairs, ignoring all of them. However, after several minutes, Sado stopped, staring down at the coliseum below them.

"What?" Mira asked.

"Look down," Sado said.

They all looked, seeing several teams on floating green circles, all disqualified. Natsu groaned.

"But if we can't go that way, then how do we find the exit?" Erza asked.

"Well, it's a magical labyrinth," Sado said, thinking. "And this entire place is clearly meant to confuse us. Shit. We have to go to the center after all."

"You sure?" Gray asked.

"Positive," Sado nodded.

Just as he turned toward the center, an alarm chimed through the labyrinth before everything started to turn. They hovered in place, Sado and Natsu blasting any pathways that got too close, until the turning stopped. By the time it had, a lot of teams had been eliminated.

"Okay," Sado said. "Let's go!"

He shot forward, inhaling. Then, he exhaled a jet of pure white flames, the flames blasting through everything in his path for hundreds of feet. Then, he let it end.

"Natsu!" He said.

"Fire Dragon Roar!" Natsu shouted, sending a blast of flames exploding through even more of the maze.

Finally, as Sado sent another jet of flame through the maze, they finally broke through the inner-most layer, flying down into a whole other world. Below them was an ocean with a winding stone pathway, and several wizards were running along it. Sado looked around, seeing a doorway off to the right that said "GOAL" over it. He turned, flying to the doorway with the others, landing lightly and setting Natsu on his feet, Mira setting Gray down too. Standing in front of the door was the little pumpkin-headed thing.

"Welcome!" the pumpkin said. "Sado, Mirajane Strauss, Erza Scarlet, Gray Fullbuster, and Natsu Dragneel! Congratulations! You've cleared the preliminary round!"

"What place did we come in?" Sado asked.

"Seventh," the pumpkin said.

"I can accept that," Sado said. "At least we qualified."

"I could have sworn we'd be faster than that," Erza said.

"It's not a big deal," Sado said. "Let's just get to the coliseum so we can get out of this ridiculous maze."

The others all nodded in agreement, all of them hurrying through the door, then down to the coliseum. Once they arrived, they found Makarov waiting. He led them to their staging area and handed out their uniforms, all of them purple. Sado grimaced.

"Why purple?" Sado asked. "Couldn't it be black, or red, or white?"

"Is there a problem?" Makarov asked.

"Not at all Master," Sado said.

"Good," Makarov smiled. "See you in a few hours."

And then he was gone. Sado sighed, looking around the waiting area. No walls, no bathroom, no privacy. Not that it mattered to Gray. He had already lost his purple shirt somehow, simply wearing his usual black pants. Erza also didn't mind, as she simply requipped into hers, leaving her in a purple shirt with the top open partway down her cleavage, and then open at the bottom just below her navel, falling behind her to about mid-calf. The problem was, all she had on her lower body were a pair of thigh-high blue stockings and a pair of small black panties, which were exposed for anyone in front of her to see.

"Um, Erza, is that really the best outfit option for you?" Sado asked.

"Why?" Erza asked, looking down.

"You know what, nevermind," Sado said.

He looked at Mira, realizing she had somehow already changed as well, no one having noticed. Now, she was in a slim purple dress that hung low on her cleavage and had a split up the left side to expose her Fairy Tail crest, which meant the split ran up to her waist. Sado grinned seeing it. He sighed, pulling the purple jacket on. He absolutely hated it, but hopefully there'd be a fight and it would, very unfortunately, be ruined before he won.

Once everyone had changed, Sado sat against the wall, Mira in his lap, and the two of them fell asleep quickly.

* * *

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	62. Chapter 62

I do not own any of the original Fairy Tail characters.

* * *

Introductions

Sado ignored the boos echoing around them, currently slumped forward, jaw hanging open and eyes about ready to fall out of his head. Sitting on the railing in front of Fairy Tail's seats was none other than Mavis Vermilion. The others were staring as well.

"What...but...how..." Sado struggled to form a thought, but Natsu simply laughed.

"Even Master Mavis came to cheer for us?" Natsu chuckled. "We've got this in the bag."

"At least the ghost likes us," Gray said.

"But that's...impossible," Sado said. "She's supposed to be...stuck on Tenrou Island. A ghost can't leave its grave."

"Well, now we just have more reason to win," Mira smiled, wrapping her arms around one of his.

"Fir enough," he sighed. "Oh well. I'm sure we'll dominate whatever they throw at us."

"Next up the guild that came in eighth place in the prelims," the announcer said. "The rowdy army of hellhounds, Quatro Cerberus!"

Sado rolled his eyes. "They got their name from the Oracion Seis, I bet."

"Probably," Gray nodded.

The guild in question looked to be made up of a punk-rock wannabe, a pirate washout, a guy wearing a cape that had a head looking like a cross between a chicken and a white dog, a guy built like elfman but with a square jaw and a forced mean expression, and a massive blimp of a man with a black bodysuit bearing an "X" on the front with a blue face.

"Coming in sixth is a guild filled to the brim with the fairer sex, the dancers of the great blue sea, Mermaid Heel!" the announcer said.

Sado looked to where a massive vortex of blue magic was just clearing, leaving five women. One was wearing a white military-style coat and a short white skirt, black leggings, white boots, and had long raven hair reaching her waist. Beside her was a woman with green hair in a massive ponytail made of what looked like dreadlocks wearing a yellow spiderweb-themed bodysuit. Next was a girl with a pair of jean overalls, a black tee-shirt, red hair in a pair of braids. Next was a girl who was even more exposed than Erza. She had on a pair of black and purple striped stockings, a garter belt holding them up, a pair of dangerously small black panties with a pink cat paw print on the front, a dangerously small black bra with red outlining it, a pair of red markings on her cheeks, and a purple cape that stuck up on top of her head in two spots as though over a pair of pointed ears. Lastly was a plus-sized woman with a tribal bra and loincloth, hopefully with underwear underneath it, a necklace of bleached white teeth, and bushy black hair falling down her back.

"Erza," Sado said. "Isn't the one that needs to put some clothes on Millianna?"

Erza cocked her head, staring at the one he had described quite accurately before nodding. "It is. What the heck does she think she's wearing!?"

"I don't think she does," Sado said.

"In fifth place," the announcer continued, though that was all Sado caught since as he looked over at Blue Pegasus, he found that one of the five members was wearing a large blue rabbit costume.

"Anyone else see a blue rabbit over there?" Sado asked.

"Uh...yeah," Natsu said. "Who the heck is that?"

Sado shook his head.

"Next, in fourth place, the goddess of love and strife, the sacred destroyer, Lamia Scale!" the announcer said.

They looked over and saw a girl that looked like Sherry, but who was a bit shorter and with two short pigtails on the sides of her head rather than a massive ponytail.

"This is Shelia, she's one of Sherry's cousins," Lyon introduced.

"Hey Lyon, where's Ur?" Sado asked.

Lyon's cheeks turned a slight shade of pink and he cleared his throat, Sado's jaw dropping.

"She, uh, headed back to your guild this morning," Lyon said.

"She what?" Gray asked, looking to the Fairy Tail Guild's seats. "I don't see her."

"You did _not_!" Sado gaped. "Lyon you...you...god damn!"

"What?" Lyon blinked before blushing scarlet. "No you imbecile! That didn't happen!"

"What didn't happen?" Natsu blinked Gray adopting an evil grin.

"Is there something I should know Lyon?" Gray asked.

"No!" Lyon said. "Nothing happened!"

"The more they deny it, the more true it is," Sado shrugged, Lyon groaning and resting his face in his hands.

"Now to introduce our third place contestants," The announcer said, saving Lyon from any more taunting, for now. "What a shocker. Swooping in from a midnight dreary, this dark a gloomy bunch are making their debut in this year's games! Give it up for, Raven Tail!"

"The dark guild!?" Sado and Mira both gasped, turning toward the guild walking into the coliseum.

The leader had gold and black armor on, one wizard being a woman with red hair and a very exposing red dress as well as an empty, psychopathic expression, one being a being a short man with blonde hair, a massive butt-chin, and purple skin with a white cape and dark clothes, one having messy black hair, fitted black clothes, and black lipstick, and the last being ridiculously tall with a black cloak concealing his outfit, three white bowties around his neck, long blue hair, blue skin, and a pointed blue nose. Makarov began to shout at the announcers for being incompetent and several people around the stands began murmuring about Raven Tail's dark guild status.

"Well, their records appear to be in order," the announcer said. "They appear to be an old guild, official sources say they've been active over seven years. But they were only recently approved for official guild status by the magic council."

"If they have official status, then they're technically not a dark guild and are, therefore, eligible to compete," Yajima said from his place beside the announcer.

"Fairy Tail," the one in gold armor said in a raspy voice. "I trust your friend is recovering?"

Sado's eyes flicked to the small devil-like creature on the tall blue-skinned wizard's shoulder and rage filled him, his flames shooting high into the air.

"You attacked Wendy!" Sado snarled.

About thirty minutes after they had arrived, Warren had informed them that Wendy had been found with Carla, both drained of their magic. Porlyusica had arrived about ten minutes later and began to treat them both, promising that they would be fine.

The one in gold armor laughed. "The festival's just getting started."

"Hold on!" the announcer said. "We've still got two teams who made it through the qualifying rounds."

"I'm going to break every single one of you," Sado snarled. "And then I'm going to roast that little goblin and serve him like a Thanksgiving Day turkey!"

"Our first place runner up is..." the announcer hurriedly said, trying to defuse the inevitable brawl before it could start. "Oh wow! This contest just got a whole lot more interesting folks! It's Fairy Tail Team B!"

Sado's jaw dropped as a massive ball of lightning with a glowing Fairy Tail emblem faded, leaving Gajeel, Laxus, Jellal who was dressed like Mystogan, Juvia, and Ur. Everyone else was staring too.

"How the hell is that fair!?" Sado gaped. "You can't have Mystogan, Laxus, and Ur all on the same team!"

"You have yourself, Mirajane, and Erza," Ur pointed out.

Sado sighed, shaking his head before grinning wickedly, Lyon's face turning scarlet as he saw the grin and Gray adopting a similar grin. "So Ur, I heard you and Lyon had a fun time together last night."

"We did not!" Lyon shouted.

"Oh yes, it was very fun," Ur said. "I had no idea he had grown so much."

"I bet he grew a bit more around you too," Sado grinned.

"Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!" Lyon shouted, hands over his ears.

Everyone began to laugh, Ur shaking her head.

"I ended up not going until the last two weeks or so before the games," Ur said. "So we spent about a week training before just relaxing a few days. We just caught up on all the things I missed."

Sado nodded, still grinning.

People around them were arguing about whether or not Fairy Tail was allowed to have two teams, so the announcer explained that the guilds actually _were_ permitted to have two teams, and that only Fairy Tail had had the foresight to enter two. However, Sado was a little annoyed that Makarov hadn't put all of the strongest, meaning the Devil's Claw, members on one team. They needed the training in teamwork anyway if they were going to have any hope of fighting, if worst came to worst, a small army of Devil Slayers.

"This is complete bull crap!" Natsu shouted, stomping over to the other Fairy Tail team. "As long as we're in this tournament you're my enemies and if we fight I ain't pulling any punches!"

"I wouldn't have it any other way," Gajeel grinned. "I'm looking forward to making you eat dirt Salamander."

"If it comes down to us fighting each other, I'll take Ur myself," Sado said. "No one else stands a chance."

"Do you?" Gray asked. "Ur's had three months to train."

"And we got our Second Origins unlocked," Sado said. "I'll probably manage to last a full thirty seconds before she humiliates me."

Several of the others snorted in amusement and Ur shook her head, sighing.

"Alright then," Ur said. "Challenge accepted."

"And last but not least," the nearly forgotten announcer said. "It's the team that cam in first in the preliminary round. That's right. You know them. You love them. Now get on your feet for the most powerful guild in all of Fiore. The one and only Sabertooth!"

"It's them," Natsu snarled. "Sting and Rogue. The Dragon Slayers that killed their parents."

Sado turned to look, seeing a blonde with his fists in the air wearing mid-bicep length blue gloves with white cloth hanging from the back of the tops, a blue half-jacket with grey fur lining the edges, a grey shirt that covered only his chest, a white cloth hanging around his waist on the right side and in front and back, and black pants. The other wore a scowl, had straight black hair hanging around his head and covering the right side of his face, a black cloak with a white tie holding it closed, a light grey shirt, black pants, and a black apron-like cloth hanging from his waist with a stylized red cross on the front. He had a sword at his waist and, like the first, radiated power and danger. Behind them was a girl who looked a lot like Lisanna. She wore a white cape around her upper body with blue fur at the bottom, blue shoulders, pure white feathers around her neck, a fair bit of cleavage showing, a blue star-shaped clasp holding the cape closed, a white blouse and shorts showed from where the cape was parted slightly, white high-heeled shoes, and thigh-high white stockings.

"Jesus, she's Angel's sister," Sado breathed.

"I think you're right," Gray nodded.

The next member of Sabertooth was a massive wall of muscle only slightly smaller than Elfman with messy green hair down his back, a black headband, a necklace of orange, tooth-shaped beads, tattoos on both shoulders, brown forearm guards with two white balls of fur on the back of each wrist, a yellow cape around his waist, white pants, and black shoes. The last member, the strangest of them all, had straight blonde hair down his back, a red vest with coattails reaching his knees, a white button up shirt under it, a fancy white cloth hanging from the front of his vest, brown pants, knee-high black leather boots cuffed at the top, grey elbow-length gloves, a red hat shaped like an arrow with the sides curving upward and a large, bushy, pink feather in the left side, and a red mask under the hat, covering the upper half of his face.

"I can't wait to bring them down," Natsu snarled.

"Why so serious?" Sting, the blonde, said. "It's just a game."

"There a reason you keep gawking, pretty boy?" Gajeel snarled, Rogue having been staring at him.

"Nothing important," Rogue said.

Finally, the announcer said they were going to reveal the schedule. Then, the ground in the center of the arena began to rise, sand falling off of whatever was under it. Finally, a massive stone pillar was revealed with the schedule.

"Day 1: hidden plus battle. Day 2: ? ? ? plus battle. Day 3: ? ? ? plus battle. Day 4: ? ? ? plus _tag_ battle. Day 5: ? ? ? ? ? ? Day 6: ? ? ? ? ? ? Day 7: ? ? ? ? ? ?"

Underneath the completely useless schedule was a scoring system from eighth place to first, the points going from zero at eighth, to four at fourth, going up by one each time, then going up by two each after that until ten points at first.

"Helpful schedule," Sado grunted, the others nodding in agreement.

"There's going to be a lot of action in the next few days," Gray said.

"Now we're talking," Natsu grinned.

"Each one of the rounds will begin with a contest," the announcer said. "The participants will then be ranked from first to eighth place. The teams will be awarded points depending on how they rank in the contests. Additionally the teams are allowed to select which of the members they want to compete. After that we have battles. These bouts should come as quite a treat to all you loyal fans, since it was your suggestions that created these match ups."

"Wait, we have assigned opponents?" Sado asked. "What a ripoff! I'm going to get stuck with some wimp!"

Sado ignored the announcer describing how battle scoring would go. It was easy to figure out. Win gets ten, loss gets zero, tie splits the points.

"Ready for action?" the announcer asked. "Let's get things started with the first contest of the Grand Magic Games, one that we call Hidden!"

Suddenly, all of the writing on the pillar was gone, the word "Hidden" appearing in its place.

"Each team, please choose a single member to compete," the announcer said. "After you do that, the rules will be explained."

"Excuse me?" Sado asked, eye twitching. "We can't find out what kind of game it is until after we choose who's playing? What kind of bullshit...fuck it. Gray, you're up."

"Right," Gray nodded, stepping forward.

"Alright, everyone's been chosen!" the announcer said. "Alright, listen closely, because you'll only hear the rules once."

* * *

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	63. Chapter 63

I do not own any of the original Fairy Tail characters.

* * *

Day 1

Sado sighed as he watched the screens. Hidden looked ridiculous. There were hundreds of copies of each of the players, all within a massive projection of a city. The rules were easy but completely unfair. Attack a competitor and hit them, gain a point. Take a hit, lose a point. Hit a copy, lose a point. It would be almost impossible to keep a positive score, and so far, Juvia was down a point and Gray was down two, everyone else sitting at zero. And now, everyone had blended in with the copies. Gray was struggling to blend in though, with Raven Tail's short purple member, Nalpudding, hunting him almost exclusively.

"This game would be a hell of a lot more interesting, if I was playing," Sado said. "It's boring to watch."

"I think it's interesting," Mira said.

"Well, we _are_ watching Gray get shown up by a little purple troll," Sado said. "That's pretty fun."

Mira shook her head, smiling. Suddenly, it began to snow. Sado smirked. Copies couldn't get cold, and their breath wouldn't fog. Smart, Eve. Smart. Sado looked back to the screen where Nalpudding had just tried to surprise Gray and Juvia, missing both. Then, the battles continued with pretty much everyone but Gray gaining points. And, of course, Sabertooth's member, Rufus. He was standing on top of a building doing nothing. Then, suddenly, a massive red spell circle spread behind him before gold light formed waves and beams around it, the entire world growing dark as the competitors glowed gold. Before anyone could move, he sent out a blast of golden energy for each, blasting everyone but Nalpudding, who leapt at him. Just before his strike could land, Rufus vanished then reappeared. Then, he blasted Nalpudding in the back.

"Memory Make Magic?" Sado breathed, staring at Rufus. "Is there such a thing?"

Gray leapt at Rufus, only for Nalpudding to appear and kick him back into the ground. Then, the game was ended, the town fading and the scores being tallied, both fairy tail teams coming out on bottom, though Juvia had several points more than Gray, thanks to Nalpudding. Sado groaned.

"That was humiliating," Sado said. "I already hate Raven Tail. Their only goal is to make sure we don't win."

"You're right," Mira said. "They're going to be trouble."

"And now for the battle portion!" the announcer said. "This first match is going to test the skills of Fairy Tail A's Phoenix, Sado, against Raven Tail's Flare Corona!"

"Alright then," Sado said, cracking his knuckles. "Time for us to give them a taste of their own medicine."

"Be careful," Mira said, Sado nodding as he dropped into the ring.

Flare Corona, the girl wearing the revealing red dress with the total psychopath expression and the dead eyes, dropped in as well, the two of them walking to the middle of the arena.

"Competitors, step forward!" the pumpkin thing said. "This entire arena will be your battlefield. Since this is one on one, we've moved the rest of your teammates completely off the field. You have a thirty minute time limit."

"Good," Flare said, tilting to the right. "Plenty of time."

"I'll only need four," Sado said, cracking his knuckles.

"If you can knock out your opponent, or make them forfeit within the time limit, you win!" the pumpkin said. "I want a good clean fight! Now, let's rumble!"

"Wrong place for a clean fight," Sado growled as a gong went off.

He punched, sending a fireball at Flare, who began to cackle maniacally, her hair coming alive and lighting on fire, blocking his fireball. He sent another at her at the same time as stomping his foot and punching his free hand out to the side. Her hair again blocked the fireball coming from the front before she stepped to the side, barely avoiding the pillar of flame that shot up from below her. Then, her hair blocked the fireball he had sent at her from the side with her flaming hair before the fire went out and her hair fell around her face. She stood hunched over, grinning wickedly at him.

"Okay," Sado said. "I might need eight minutes."

"My turn," Flare said, hair coming alive and extending, transforming into a massive wolf's front half. "Hair Shower, Wolf Fang!"

The wolf lunged at Sado and he smirked, forming a Fire Make Sword and leaping at the wolf, rapidly slashing his way through it, landing off to the side of the hair and leaping away from it as a spike shot out of it at him. He landed on his feet, glaring at her as she shrieked in rage.

"How dare you!" she wailed. "I'll kill you for that!"

She drove her hair into the ground, hair exploding up from below Sado and grabbing his legs, beginning to spin him around and around, dragging him along the ground as fire raged through her hair. Sado glared at her, then smirked.

"My turn," Sado grinned, placing his hands together. "Fire Make Bow!"

He formed a bow and arrow, flipping and firing instantly. Flare jerked her head to the side, out of the way of the arrow, but the arrow hadn't been meant for her. Just before it hit her hair, the arrowhead expanded, slicing her hair off completely just barely off of her head. He bounced off the ground once and flipped to his feet, ripping the hair off of his ankles and grinning, listening to Flare screaming in rage.

"You'll pay for that!" Flare shouted, driving her hair into the ground again.

Sado waited, but nothing happened. Flare grinned, pointing at the stands. He turned to look, seeing a tendril of hair behind Asuka. He opened his mouth to warn her but Flare's hair wrapped around his head, flipping him over her and driving him head-first into the ground, allowing him to bounce before he flipped, spinning and sending a Fire Make Dagger shooting toward Fairy Tail's stands before landing on his feet. The dagger streaked past Asuka's head, cutting the hair tendril, everyone turning in time to see the hair shoot back into the ground before grabbing Asuka and moving away from the hole.

"What the hell was that!?" the announcer shouted. "Did one of the Fairy Tail members just try to attack not only a member of his own guild, but also a _child_!"

Everyone began booing until Mira, in her She Devil form, landed in the announcer's box, explaining what had happened, and showing the bit of Flare's hair he had cut off as proof.

"Well...I don't know how to say this...but..." the announcer was at a loss for words.

"Leave it!" Sado shouted. "I'll deal with it myself, right now."

There was silence in the arena.

"As you wish," the announcer said. "Let it be known that Sado was _not_ attacking a child. He was defending her."

Everyone began to cheer as Flare shrieked in rage, her hair shooting forward in spikes.

"No," Sado snarled, flames exploding up around him as he began to walk forward, Flare's hair burning away to ash as it hit the flames. "You tried to hurt Asuka. You're going to pay!"

"No!" Flare shouted. "Stay back!"

Her hair ripped a chunk of the ground up and hurled it at him but Sado formed his devil hand around his right hand, catching the chunk of stone then throwing it aside, letting the devil hand fade. Flare screamed, scrambling backward. Sado stopped, crouching as flames exploded off of his body, forming his Phoenix Flight's wings and tail.

"It's over," Sado snarled. "Phoenix Flight!"

He leapt off of the ground, shooting across the ground rapidly at Flare. Then, as he got within a foot of Flare and her hair was blocking him from the view of the spectators, his flames suddenly vanished. He blinked in surprise before a spike of Flare's hair impaled him through the gut, hurling him away.

"I don't know what just happened, but it seems like Sado's spell was...a complete dud," the announcer said.

"How?" Sado growled, pushing himself up, holding a hand to his wound. "How did you cancel my attack?"

Flare merely grinned wickedly. Sado pulled out a healing lacrima and ate it, grimacing before his stomach healed and flames erupted from his body once more.

"Okay, fine," Sado said. "You want to play dirty, that's your choice. But if you think anyone, and I mean anyone, is going to fall for my attacks failing more than once, you're a fool."

He held his hands over his right shoulder, a fireball forming between them before expanding rapidly. Once it was bigger than him, he hurled it at Flare, who screamed, staggering backward. Her hair lit on fire, moving to block it, only for the fireball to blast through her hair instantly, exploding and sending her flying into the wall. She collapsed to the ground and Sado dusted his hands off, walking away.

"And the winner is, Sado The Phoenix!" the announcer shouted, cheers erupting all over the arena.

He climbed up into the stands beside Mira and sighed, leaning back as she rested her head on his shoulder. "She was an unnecessary pain in the neck."

"She fought dirty," Mira said. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Sado said. "But it wasn't her that cancelled my attack. It was that little imp on the blue guy's shoulder."

Mira nodded. The next match was Ren from Blue Pegasus against Mermaid Heel's Araña Webb, the one with the yellow spiderweb-themed outfit and the green hair. The fight was short. Jenny Realight shouted for Ren to win for his "fiancée" Sherry. He spent a few minutes denying it before admitting that he "didn't feel like himself without her around" before beating Araña with a single spell. Sado grinned.

"Hey Ur," Sado said, Ur leaning forward. "I was just wondering, what are you going to do if you steal Lyon from Shelia and she tries to fight you for him? She looks too innocent for you to just demolish."

"Firstly, I never said that I was interested in Lyon," Ur said. "I just said he's grown into a fine young man. Secondly, when I inevitably _do_ steal him, she's welcome to come with him as a package deal."

Sado snorted, covering his mouth before bursting out laughing, several of the others gaping at Ur as Mira simply shook her head, smiling, a hint of pink on her cheeks. "There is absolutely no way either of them will go for that, even if you _do_ have Lyon wrapped around your finger already."

"Would you like to make a bet about it?" Ur asked.

"What, about whether you can land both Lyon and Shelia without any magic or potions helping you?" Sado snorted. "Depends. Terms?"

"Since we all know there's going to be some massive party thrown once we've won the games, it has to be by the time that party ends," Ur said. "I am not allowed to get either of them drunk before hand to help sway their decision, and just for your sake, I'll even throw in some photographic proof."

"That's not necessary," Sado said. "I definitely like my chances as far as you actually landing Shelia by then, even if you could have Lyon tonight if you wanted. However, who wins what if we make this bet?"

"If I succeed, you have to give me nudes of Mira every month for a year," Ur said, again making everyone stare at her, mortified, even Sado and Mira. "But if you win the bet, I'll teach you how to finally combine your Fire Devil power with your Fire Make Magic, allowing you perfect control of both."

Sado stared at her. She wasn't serious, was she? How could she possibly know how to do that?"

"Well?" Ur asked.

"You're not going to make some bullshit reward where if I win I have sex with you and Mira or some such nonsense that works in your favor anyway?" Sado asked. "I'm actually a little disappointed."

"Do you accept my bet?" Ur asked.

"Yes," Mira said, everyone staring at her now. "We accept."

"Excellent," Ur smiled. "I hope you're good with a camera. Because if not, I'll have to take the pictures myself. And I'm a very hands on photographer."

All of the males around them all suddenly stiffened, in several different ways. If it were an anime, Sado was sure they'd all be spraying blood out of their noses. He sighed, shaking his head.

"Why would you agree to that?" Sado asked.

"You learning better control and becoming stronger is worth any risk," Mira said. "You need to learn that. For when _he_ shows up."

Sado sighed, nodding. "She better not win the bet."

Mira sighed, nodding as the Cuatro Cerberus member with the chicken-dog cape, Warcry, and the green-haired muscular member of Sabertooth, Olga Nanagear, walked into the arena.

"Something tells me, this is going to be a short fight," Sado said.

"Most likely," Mira said. "Quatro Cerberus doesn't really seem strong. Just lucky."

Almost as soon as the gong sounded, Warcry began to sob, except, his tears formed floating puddles above him in seconds.

"Well that's...unique," Sado said.

"I've Never seen a Magic like that," Mira said.

"With my magic, the more tears I shed...the stronger I become!" Warcry sobbed.

Suddenly, Olga extended his arm and a bolt of black lightning with a yellow aura around it shot out of his palm, blasting Warcry and expanding into a dome of the lightning before exploding. Sado shot out of his chair instantly, leaning on the wall as he stared at Olga in shock.

"What was that?" Mira asked.

"Lightning God Slayer Magic," Sado breathed. "He's...a God Slayer?"

"Should we try to recruit him?" Mira asked.

"No," Sado said. "Not yet. We know nothing about him as a person. I would need people I can actually trust. But that power is definitely tempting." Sado blinked as Olga returned to the center of the arena, asking for a microphone, which the pumpkin ran over to him instantly. "What is he..."

Then, Olga began to rap into the microphone about how great the Sabertooth Guild was. People around the arena had mixed reactions, some booing, others cheering. Still others laughed. Finally, Olga dropped the mic and walked out of the arena. Sado sighed.

"Thank God that's over," Sado sighed.

"Alright, time for the final round," the announcer said. "Fairy Tail B's Ice Make Queen, Ur, versus Lamia Scale's Iron Rock Jura!"

"Ice Make Queen, huh?" Sado grinned. "Accurate."

"Wish me luck," Ur said, winking at him and Mira as she passed, Sado groaning and rolling his eyes.

"Don't strip too much," Sado said. "This is a fight, not a strip dance. And just because you could probably win while strip dancing doesn't prove anything."

Ur laughed, dropping off of the wall and landing lightly as Jura walked onto the arena floor from a door off to the side. Sado sighed, shaking his head.

"What?" Mira asked.

"I'm actually worried we might be too close to this fight," Sado said. "It's a Wizard Saint against someone strong enough to be a Wizard Saint."

"You're strong enough," Mira said.

"But I'm not a human, so I don't count," Sado said.

He glanced at Mavis, who had been sitting silently on the wall for a while. She was fidgeting as she sat there, and had a small pout on her face.

"Are you okay?" He asked. "You don't have to worry about the fight. Ur's as strong as a Wizard Saint. She'll be tough to match, let along beat."

"It's not that," Mavis said. "I really need to go to the rest room."

"Really!?" the entire guild gaped. "But you're a ghost!"

Sado shook his head, smirking, and looked back out at Ur and Jura, Jura taking a ready position and Ur simply standing there, arms crossed and a teasing yet excited smile on her face.

"Whenever you're ready, Iron Rock Jura," Ur said.

Jura nodded, holding two fingers up in front of his face. Instantly, massive stone pillars began to shoot up in front of him, shooting toward Ur. Ur flipped over them, uncrossing her arms and set one hand on a pillar, throwing herself into the air as three more crashed into that pillar. She flipped, landing on her feet on the now motionless pillars and grinned.

"Is that all?" Ur smiled. "I thought the Ten Wizard Saints were supposed to be powerful."

Jura smirked, clapping his hands, a massive stone fist that had been carved into a gauntlet shot out of the ground at her. Ur placed her hands together and smirked.

"Ice Make Rosen Krone!" Ur said, massive ice vines and roses bursting out of the ground and wrapping around the arm, yanking it to the ground and pinning it.

Then, the ice vines continued at Jura. He swiped a hand to the side, stone pillar shattering the ice as it approached him, but Ur smiled, placing her hands together again.

"Ice Make Rose Garden!" Ur said, a gigantic ice rose forming in front of her.

Then, in a matter of seconds, ice roses had exploded into existence all over the arena floor, completely encasing Jura in ice.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I think that's it!" the announcer said.

Suddenly, the roses began to crack.

"Oh, hold on!" the announcer said. "I might have spoken too soon."

The roses shattered, stone pillars exploding up from around Jura, then sinking back into the ground. Then, he placed his hands on the ground, a massive stone statue of a man in spiked armor forming behind him, the fist from earlier belonging to this.

"This is the end, I'm afraid," Jura said.

"I agree," Ur nodded. "Shall we?"

"Iron Rock Golem, Explosion!" Jura shouted, the golem exploding into a massive column of massive stones, all flipping high into the air before falling.

Ur placed her hands together, magic energy flying off of them before she placed them on the ground. "Ice Make Ice Volcano!"

The ground absolutely exploded, massive chunks of ice easily as big as a house spewed from the ground, exploding into dust and ice chunks as they impacted with the stones in the air. Ur was on the edge of the hole on one side, Jura on the other, but as soon as the ground finished exploding, ice vines burst out of the ground around him, binding him so that he was suspended in the ground, spread eagle and with each finger individually bound apart from the others. He couldn't so much as move a finger, and Ur smiled as she waved a hand, fanning the dust and ice away from herself.

"Can someone please help with this dust so we can see what happened?" the announcer asked.

Ren swiped a hand, several spheres of Airspace Magic flying through the dust and clearing it, the crowd erupting into cheers instantly.

"Holy shit!" the announcer said. "We have a winner! Fairy Tail's very own Ice Make Queen, Ur! And that's it for today, folks. Here's the current tally for all of the teams' scores! In first place, surprising no one, it's Sabertooth!"

Cheers all around.

"In second place, it's Blue Pegasus!" the announcer said, receiving thunderous applause. "In third place with eleven points, and fourth place with ten, in probably the biggest surprise in the history of the Grand Magic Games, it's Fairy Tail B followed by Fairy Tail A."

There were a lot of cheers. More than Sado expected. But there were still a lot of boos to go with them.

"Coming up in fifth place is Raven Tail!" the announcer said. "Followed by Lamia Scale, Mermaid Heel, and Quatro Cerberus!"

Sado smiled as Ur created an Ice pillar to get back to the rest of them, sitting down in the same seat as before.

"Impressive," Sado said. "Though, I doubt you needed to do quite that much damage to the arena."

Ur shrugged. "I was fighting a Wizard Saint. I had to go all out."

"If that was all out, maybe I made a mistake about recruiting you," Sado snorted. "That was nowhere near your full power."

"Okay fine," Ur said. "I had to make it _look_ like I went all out. Guys have such fragile egos."

"Alright, that's it for today folks!" the announcer said. "Come back tomorrow for more explosive fun!"

Everyone began to file out, Sado following with Mira, slipping his hand into hers. She could sense something was wrong by his grip.

"What is it?" Mira whispered.

"I don't know," Sado whispered back. "I thought sensed a dark power."

"Devil Slayer?" Mira asked.

"No," Sado said. "Closer to Zeref's type of dark power."

"Could you tell where?" Mira asked.

"No," Sado said.

They stepped out of the coliseum into the city and Sado sighed.

"I'm sure it's nothing," Sado said. "Come on. Let's go get food. I'm starving."

Mira smiled and nodded and they headed into town, finding a bar and heading inside.

* * *

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	64. Chapter 64

I do not own any of the original Fairy Tail characters.

* * *

Day 2

Sado shook his head, laughing to himself as a completely wasted Freed demanded that Gajeel stop patting Laxus on the head, Gajeel teasing Laxus for acting responsible when Natsu was trying to start a brawl. Freed then called on the rest of the Thunder Legion, calling them the Laxus Bodyguard Corps, to help, only to find that both had lost a drinking competition with Cana and passed out.

"When will they learn, there's no one alive who can outdrink Cana," Sado said.

"Well this looks like a party worth joining," a man wearing blue armor on both arms and shoulder but leaving the rest of his torso exposed, revealing the Quatro Cerberus crest on his back, and a pair of baggy brown pants said as he walked over to Cana.

"And here comes the next fool," Sado said.

"Oh yeah?" Cana asked, raising an eyebrow as she gave the man a cursory glance.

He had his black hair slicked back into a bun with a white cloth tied over it, five small black triangles under each eye, pointing downward, and a pair of gourd earrings. Aside from that, the main thing that stuck out was his extremely chiseled muscles. Sado rolled his eyes as he saw a slight smirk tug at Cana's lips.

"How about a couple drinks to pass the time?" the man grinned, setting a filled shot glass on the table.

"So we're skipping the introductions and going straight to the fun part," Cana grinned. "You got something to prove do ya?"

"Hey pal, take some free advice and walk away," Macao warned.

"Her alcohol tolerance is about as strong as her daddy," Wakaba added.

Cana patted the seat beside her and the man grinned, sitting down. Sado settled in to watch the man puke all over himself from trying to win. However, ten minutes and countless drinks later, Cana keeled over backward, passing out on the floor as the man took yet another shot, smiling proudly.

"I don't believe it," Sado breathed. "He won. There's actually someone in this world who can beat Cana. Holy shit!"

Then, his jaw dropped further as the man pulled Cana's bra off, leaving her passed out on the floor, topless.

"Thanks for the trophy, hot stuff," the man said, staggering away, Macao and Wakaba rushing over as Sado walked over to Cana, covering her with his jacket.

"Do you have a death wish!?" Macao shouted.

"If Gildarts finds out he's gonna be pissed!" Wakaba warned.

The man began to laugh.

"Give it back right now, you hear!?" Macao shouted.

"Mocking our guild won't help either!" Wakaba said.

The man laughed again, falling forward at the waist as Macao and Wakaba snatched at the bra, then stood back up, slamming into them and knocking them down, falling backward. As soon as his palms hit their heads, the floor under their heads cratered and he collapsed between the two. Just then, Erza walked over, staring at the man.

"Is that you Bacchus?" Erza asked.

"You know this guy?" Sado asked, walking over and taking the bra from him, handing it to Mira to put back on.

Bacchus looked up at Erza before flipping to his feet, grinning. "Well well. If it isn't Erza Scarlet."

"You're still a drunk," Erza said as Bacchus leaned forward, getting a bit closer than Erza was comfortable with.

"And when I'm sober you'll still be smokin hot!" Bacchus said.

"You know how to flatter a girl," Erza said sarcastically.

"You know him?" Lucy asked.

"I heard you'd gone into hiding a while back," Bacchus said. "It seemed like such a shame."

"Something like that," Erza said. "What about you? I hear you're actually competing in the Grand Magic Games."

Bacchus began to laugh. "At first I saw this little trip as a chance to get hammered and sample the local color. But after watching Warcry make a fool out of himself, and our guild, my manly spirit got a thirsting for vengeance. So I'm entering the games as a reserve member and I plan to cause all kinds of trouble." He hick upped, turning and heading for the door. "My soul is shaken and stirred! Maybe we'll have our own little party in a battle round. Be nice to settle the score. You know what we say at our guild. You will always be..."

"Wild," Erza said, completely unenthusiastically, not that Bacchus seemed to notice.

"Least you're still good for a chuckle Erza," Bacchus said, cackling as he left the bar.

Sado rolled his eyes. "I hate him already."

"I'm sure you're over reacting," Mira said. "I'm sure he'll be better once he's sober."

"Maybe you're right," Sado sighed. "I kinda hope I get chosen again so I can pound him into the ground, though."

"Be forewarned," Erza said. "He's Quatro Cerberus's S Class wizard. I've fought him more than a few times and there's never been a clear winner."

"You're kidding me," Sado said. "That drunk? Oh now I _really_ wanna fight him."

"Well, I think we should all get some rest before tomorrow," Erza said. "There's no way of knowing what will happen."

Sado nodded and he and Mira left for the hotel, most of the others following.

* * *

Sado watched as the chariots crawled along, barely moving, but still enough that Natsu, who had absolutely refused to let anyone else compete, to be motion sick. Fortunately, he wasn't alone. Gajeel was just ahead of him, and in front of both was Sting. All three were on their feet, but were barely staying there. Sado had laughed for a long time at Sting, the self-proclaimed "perfect Dragon Slayer," being motion sick like Natsu, but now it didn't matter. All three were sitting ducks. The rules were simple to understand, of course. Knock the other players off, or don't, but try to be the first one across the finish line. Anyone who fell off would be placed in last place in the order they fell off.

Suddenly, Bacchus smashed the chariots at the front, taking the lead and easily winning, followed by Black Snake from Raven Tail. Then, Mermaid Heel's Risley Law, the fat one, then Yuka, then Ichiya. All that left was Natsu, Gajeel, and Sting at the very back on the chariots that were still moving. Natsu and Gajeel were on their hands and knees crawling now, but Sting had stopped trying, instead simply waiting for last place.

"I don't get it," Sting said finally. "Can you explain something to me? Why'd you even bother entering the tournament? Seriously. I mean, you're nothing like the Fairy Tail I knew growing up. You're obsessed with how tough you are and what the rest of the world thinks of you. What happened to the Fairy Tail of my childhood? The guild that did whatever it wanted. _Whatever_ it wanted. They never cared what anybody else said or thought about them."

"The reason we're here, is for our friends!" Natsu said, struggling to continue crawling as he spoke. "The ones...who waited for us...for all the years we were gone! Who fought through the pain...and the heartache! They were humiliated...but even so...they stayed strong! And they kept our guild together! We're doing this for all of them! And we're gonna make sure that everyone here knows...the Fairy Tail guild never gave up! Not for an instant! So there's no way I'm gonna give up now!"

Sado smiled, looking back at the others and seeing that all of the ones who weren't on Tenrou Island were in tears. He looked back at the screens as Natsu and Gajeel continued to crawl. Finally, Natsu crossed the finish line, collapsing. Gajeel crawled across after. Sting had disappeared altogether. People began to cheer for Fairy Tail and Sado smiled.

"Well, we're not exactly winning right now, but I'll take it," Sado said.

"We'll catch up in the battle rounds," Mira smiled.

"Yeah, you're right," Sado smiled.

The first fight was between Tobi, who now wore a sock around his neck, and Black Snake. Tobi started off trying to get him with his poison claws, which Sado was relatively certain was his only attack, but Black Snake turned into sand, flinging Tobi around before reforming. Tobi recovered quickly, charging Black Snake and slashing at him rapidly. As he did, he and Black Snake made a bet. If Tobi one, Black Snake had to tell him his real name. If Black Snake won, Tobi had to tell him _his_ secret. Though what kind of secret Tobi would have, Sado wasn't sure. Suddenly, as Tobi spun to attack Black Snake, he kicked up a cloud of dust. A moment later, when the dust settled, Tobi was on the ground, unconscious.

"If you look at the score board, you'll see Raven Tail climbing to the top, now with twenty six points!" the announcer said.

"And Lamia Scale at ten," Yajima said. "They really could have used that win."

Black Snake turned to Tobi, who revealed that his secret was that he couldn't find his sock, the one around his neck. Black Snake pointed to it and Tobi began to sob for joy. Then, Black Snake ripped it off of Tobi's neck and tore it into pieces, Gray having to hold back Erza to keep her from tearing Black Snake into pieces.

"Settle down Erza," Sado said. "We'll deal with Raven Tail later."

"Let's move on to round two of today's battles," the announcer said. "First, from Cuatro Cerberus, it's the God of Wine, Bacchus!"

Bacchus waved to the crowd and Sado's eyebrows knitted together. Time to see if he was any less of a sleaze bag piece of shit when he was sober.

"And his opponent is Team Fairy Tail B's reserve member, Elfman Strauss!" the announcer said, Elfman grinning and standing, cracking his knuckles.

"Be careful Elfman," Sado said. "He's fast and strong."

"I've got just the thing for him," Elfman grinned.

Elfman dropped to the ground, walking over to him calmly.

"I have a very bad feeling about this," Sado said.

"It's fine," Mira said. "Elfman can handle this. He's come a long way with his full-body takeovers."

"Was that plural?" Sado grinned.

"It was," Mira nodded.

Sado smiled, turning back to the screens.

"Hey, whataya say we make our own bet?" Bacchus asked. "Like those last guys did."

"Your sisters are a couple of smokin hot little numbers," Bacchus said, flames exploding out of Sado's fists instantly.

"He wouldn't dare," Sado snarled.

"So what's your point?" Elfman asked.

"Come on man I know you can't be that dense," Bacchus said. "If I win the match, they keep me company tonight. Both at the same time."

Mira wrapped her arms around Sado from behind, holding him from slaughtering Bacchus then and there, Sado already having one foot on the railing.

"Scumbag!" Cana spat.

"Both of them?" Happy asked. "That is seriously messed up."

"What nerve," Evergreen said.

Lisanna was trembling in a mixture of fear and disgust. But Sado was trembling from rage, struggling not to let his devil features form.

"I'll fucking murder him if he touches you," Sado snarled, voice dropping rapidly.

"Now it's your turn, if you win?" Bacchus asked.

"Listen pal," Elfman snarled. "A real man doesn't tolerate that kind of disrespect! So get ready to get schooled!"

"So I recon that means you accept this little wager, do ya?" Bacchus asked.

"Don't you dare, Elfman!" Sado seethed, Elfman's head turning a fraction of an inch.

"I'm not the one that was a say in what they do," Elfman said. "Sado does, and he'll murder you if you go within a hundred feet of them, especially after you tried to pull this bullshit. I accept your wager."

"I'LL FUCKING KILL HIM! ! !" Sado roared, Mira having to transform into her Demon Halphas form to hold him back, Erza doing the same.

"Not now!" Mira said. "We're both going to pay Elfman back for this after the battles are done for today, and even _if_ Elfman loses, Bacchus won't touch us with you around, right?"

"Of course he won't!" Sado snarled.

"Then calm down!" Mira said. "Trust Elfman."

Sado sighed, forcing himself to calm down as he looked out into the arena just as Elfman crashed to the ground, already covered in dirt, bruises, and with his jacket ripped on the edges. In the background, the announcer was talking about how one sided the fight was, especially given there wasn't a single mark on Bacchus yet, and also about the "drama" going on in the Fairy Tail seats.

Elfman sprinted forward, transforming into a leopard-human hybrid, leaping at Bacchus and swiping at him rapidly. After several misses, Bacchus slammed a series of blows into him, sending him crashing to the ground.

"What are we boys?" Bacchus shouted.

"Wild!" the Cuatro Cerberus members shouted.

Elfman attacked Bacchus again, receiving another barrage of palm strikes for his effort, ending with him planted in the arena's wall. Elfman broke free, charging at Bacchus several more times, being beaten around again and again before finally collapsing, transforming back.

"Get the fuck up Elfman!" Sado shouted. "If you lose, I'll break you!"

"Tonight's going to be fun," Bacchus practically hissed, licking his lips. "I can't wait."

"Elfman!" Sado shouted.

Elfman pushed himself up, growling in effort and anger.

"I haven't told you yet," Elfman said.

"What?" Bacchus asked.

"What happens when I win," Elfman said.

"This is kind of an odd time for this to come up, but sure, tell me what happens if you win," Bacchus said.

"I want you, and the rest of your guild, to go by the name Cuatro Puppy," Elfman said, Sado gritting his teeth.

"That's it?" Sado snarled. "He bet the two of you, in exchange for them calling themselves Cuatro Puppy?"

"It's alright," Mira said. "It's going to be okay."

"Okay okay," Bacchus smiled, picking up his gourd, Sado tensing.

If drunk, Bacchus was more deadly, and currently, he had been slaughtering Elfman while sober.

"Last call," Bacchus said, chugging his alcohol.

Elfman was encased in golden light just before Bacchus shot forward, slamming seven strikes into Elfman in the time it took him to pass him. However, as he skidded to a stop, the armor on his forearms shattered, his hands being burned. He looked back as the smoke around Elfman cleared, revealing him as a human-crocodile hybrid. Sado exhaled slowly, leaning forward in his seat, clasping his hands in front of his face, elbows on his knees.

"Don't fuck this up, Elfman," Sado breathed.

"I can't hit you, but you can go ahead and hit me all you want," Elfman invited. "Bring it on. I'm gonna see you rip those puny arms of yours to shreds."

Bacchus shot forward, jumping and beginning to spin, blasting strike after strike into Elfman, who stood there, arms in front of his face, and allowing Bacchus to hit him. The more strikes he slammed into Elfman, the more of his own armor broke off. However, Elfman wasn't getting off Scott-free either. Sado could sense his magic energy dropping like a rock. Finally, Bacchus fell to his knees as Elfman transformed back into his human form, tipping forward. He fell to his knees, gasping and panting, Bacchus no better off but leaning back, staring at the sky.

"Your name's...Elfman?" Bacchus asked, laughing as he got no response and raising his fists into the air and standing. "That's right I won!"

"He may be shaking, but Bacchus has risen to his feet!" the announcer said.

"I gotta tell you pal," Bacchus said, beginning to tip backward. "You..." Then, he crashed to the ground. "...are a real man."

"And Bacchus is down!" the announcer shouted. "And with that victory, Fairy Tail B gains ten points, which brings their score to twenty two!"

"Good," Sado said. "Then I don't have to beat _both_ of them into a hole in the ground."

"Tonight," Mira said. "For now, let him have his moment."

Sado nodded, taking a breath and forcing his flames, which had still been coating his hands, to finally come completely under control again.

* * *

Leave a review.


	65. Chapter 65

I do not own any of the original Fairy Tail characters.

* * *

Beauty Pageant

Sado watched as Elfman gagged and clutched at his throat, struggling to keep the healing lacrima down.

"Take it like a man Elfman," Sado said. "The sooner you're healed, the sooner I can put you back in the hospital."

Elfman finally managed to gag it down, healing. "I'm sorry. I messed up. I should have never made that bet. I was completely wrong."

"Yes, you were," Sado said. "And once we're done with the games for today, I'm going to repay you for it. For now, rest here."

He turned, walking out of the infirmary, heading back to the stands. Just as he arrived, he saw Mira and Jenny standing in the arena. Then, at the same time, they threw their dresses off, Mira revealing an orange bikini with white designs over it, and Jenny revealing a smaller blue bikini with white triangles. Mira sat on the ground with her legs folded on either side, and with one hand held under her breasts, pushing them up needlessly. Jenny sat on her knees, holding her hair tight to her head over her shoulders.

"Do you like what you see?" Mira asked the crowd.

Sado grinned widely, staring at Mira. _Yes I do._

"What kind of battle is this!?" Gray and Natsu shouted.

Sado grinned. Suddenly, Mira was encased in golden light, reappearing in a smaller bikini than before, this one teal with white straps. Jenny responded by similarly changing into a pink one with black camouflage spots. Suddenly, Mermaid Heel's Risley, Araña, and Beth Vanderwood suddenly appeared. Except, Risley was skinny now, actually looking fairly attractive. A moment later, Sherry and Shelia appeared as well. Then, Mavis turned toward the rest of them.

"What are you girls just sitting around for?" Mavis asked.

"Should we go down there too?" Lisanna asked.

"What should we just always have a bathing suit handy?" Canna asked, completely ignoring the fact that she was, in fact, wearing a bikini top.

"Not necessarily but you should always be prepared for anything, so I have one for all of you!" Mavis said, hurling bikinis into the air.

Sado fought back a grin. This was definitely going to be fun. A moment later, the entirety of the Fairy Tail's girls, for some reason to include Asuka, had joined the others in the arena.

"Wardrobe change!" the announcer shouted. "School swimsuits!"

In almost the blink of an eye, all of the girls had changed into a blue one-piece swimsuit.

"And now, butt kicking in thigh highs!" the announcer shouted, the girls all pulling on thigh high stockings.

Sado shrugged. He wasn't really a fan of bikinis and thigh highs. it just seemed kind of...stupid.

"Who likes girls in glasses!?" the announcer shouted, all of the girls swapping the thigh highs and the school swimsuits for bikinis and glasses. "Cat ears!"

All of the girls swapped their glasses for cat ears and tails. Sado blinked, staring down at the arena, seeing Carla standing down there, arms crossed and a black headband with black false cat ears on it over the top of her head, folding her _actual_ cat ears down.

"Why is Carla wearing fake cat ears?" Sado asked. "She's a cat?"

"Never question the infinite wisdom of our first master," Makarov said.

"If you say so," Sado sighed.

"Bondage gear!" the announcer shouted.

Instantly, all of the girls were wearing leather outfits, some even sporting whips. Evergreen, for a moment, thought she had beaten Erza in looks, wearing a red leather outfit. Until Erza requipped into a tiny leather g-strap with a whip consisting of several leather strips. Then, Evergreen was on her knees, begging for forgiveness.

"How about a blushing bride challenge?" the announcer said. "So ladies, grab a lucky guy and squeeze into some wedding dresses!"

Sado grinned, all but hurling himself over the railing. As he did, Mira was waiting below him with the same tux he had used when they were hired to be the best man and maid of honor. As soon as he landed, he stomped his foot, flames flying up around him in a sphere, allowing him to change without exposing himself, Mira changing into the white dress she had worn then as well. When the flames went out, the cheers were deafening, Mira's arms linked through his and her head on his shoulder, his head resting on top of hers. He looked around, smiling. Jenny was with Hibiki. Jet and Droy had started out fighting over Levy, who was staring at Gajeel, who was lying on the ground. Beside him were Asuka in a pink dress and Panther Lily in a tux. Gray and Juvia were standing off to one side with Natsu and Lucy. Sherry and Ren were standing off to one side. Lyon was standing beside Shelia, their arms linked, except that Ur was linked on his other side, both girls subtly but painfully pulling him away from the other. Even Leo and Aries were there.

"You look as beautiful as I remember," Sado smiled, Mira lacing their fingers together and squeezing lightly.

Sado looked over to Lisanna, who was standing alone. Then, Laxus stepped up behind her, looking very displeased but wearing a white tux. Lisanna smiled up at him sweetly and Sado felt Mira squeeze his hand a little tighter. He looked at Levy again, seeing her with Gajeel's arm around her now, Jet and Droy sobbing dramatically, and Gajeel pretending to not care.

"Alright, let's go with another bathing suit round!" the announcer said.

"Stop!" a frail, elderly, feminine voice shrieked from above them. "This is an outrage! I can't take any more of this!"

"What is this!?" the announcer shouted, everyone looking up at the top of a statue's staff.

"You foolish young people!" the elderly guild master of Blue Pegasus shouted, her hand pointing at them as it waved around and around. "Let Ooba teach you a lesson! So pay close attention and learn what it means to be a real woman!"

Then, she leapt off, hurling her cape off and landing in the center of the arena, wearing a one-piece bathing suit. Instantly the entire arena went completely silent. Sado sighed, giving Mira a quick kiss before heading back into the stands, everyone else who wasn't Mira and Jenny leaving as well.

"And with that crash course in reality, the mood in the arena has come crashing back to Earth," the announcer said. "The other teams are starting to clear out."

Sado sat down, watching Mira and Jenny, both back in their original dresses, walk back to the middle. The score was currently tied at thirty and thirty.

"Why don't we make this interesting and have our own bet?" Jenny asked. "After all, everyone's doing it."

"What are the terms," Mira asked cautiously, not looking to get dragged into another bet like Bacchus and Elfman's.

"The loser will pose for Sorcerer Weekly wearing absolutely nothing but their birthday suit," Jenny said, all of the guys in the audience gaping at the two, imaginations running wild.

Sado sighed. He'd have to have Sorcerer Weekly not send him that edition so that he didn't get in trouble with Mira for having a nude picture of Jenny.

"Sorry, but I'm a little conflicted," Macao said. "Who do I cheer for?"

"Don't know, it's hard," Wakaba said.

"You're a couple of old perverts," Sado said. "Mira's going to mop up the floor with Jenny, so you'll see Jenny naked."

"You're on," Mira smiled, the entire arena cheering.

"Oh my god!" the announcer shouted. "This might be a fight where everyone wins!"

Sado stared at the announcer. He was sweating, staring at the two models, specifically at their breasts.

"Now...the next round will be...combat gear!" the announcer said.

Jenny smirked, golden magic energy flying off of her for a moment before leaving her in her Machina Soul take-over form. She had a body suit that was white around her neck and shoulders, along with her inner thighs, then dark purple from halfway down her breasts to mid-thigh where her legs transformed into reddish-pink mechanical legs. The body suit had a gap from just below her waist in a point reaching out to her sides then back in and up to just below the curve of her breasts. Two strips of red cloth crossed over the top half of the gap. There was a metal splint on each of her hips, her arms were mechanical from the shoulder down, she had small dark purple metal plates over the top of her head like a headband, and two cylindrical metal objects extended from the sides of her head where her ears should be.

"You really think you can handle my combat form?" Jenny asked.

"Yeah I'm not too worried about it," Mira said, red magical energy flying up around her, blowing her hair around. "And since we're making a bet like everybody else has, why don't we continue another trend and finish out this round with a battle of strength like they all did too."

Smoke shot up around Mira before instantly being blown away and Sado grinned. Not only was Mira about to win, but she was about to absolutely flatten Jenny. Jenny's transformation wasn't exactly weak, but it was more for show than for function. Mira hadn't gone for show at all. She had gone one step past Demon Halphas. She had gone straight to Sitri.

It had a complete body suit with most being white. It had blue boots that were connected to the body suit and had blue reaching up in jagged designs to the front of her thighs, blue over her crotch, silver clawed gauntlets over blue sleeves, a white cloth hanging from around her waist, parted in the front and held in place by a grey belt, blue reaching up from below the cloth on the sides and with two spikes of blue extending up the outside of her breasts to the top, a grey belt around her upper abdomen, white at the top of her arms, and a tattered black cape over her shoulders with a stiff collar reaching up around her neck, spiked at the top like the collar in her normal She Devil form. In this form, Mira had her segmented horns extended from the sides of her head where her ears normally were, brown armor-like bone reaching from one temple down around her horn, then along the curve of her jaw and back up the other side. Her hair was wild and messy, and flames shot out from the bottom of her feet.

"What in the heck is that?" Lucy gaped.

"It's Mira's second most powerful She Devil form," Sado smiled. "It's called Sitri."

"I agree to the terms you have set, so I'd appreciate it if you'd be a good sport and agree to mine," Mira said, preparing to strike.

"Wait are you serious!?" Jenny gaped.

"Yes," Mira said.

Then, it was over. In less time than it took to blink, Mira had shot past Jenny, punching her and flipping her several times before she crashed to the ground, unconscious. Mira smiled, holding her fist in the air as everyone cheered. Mira changed back, apologizing for setting Jenny up to fail, then promising to buy an issue when it came out. Then, she turned heading back to the others and sitting beside Sado again.

Sado glanced into the ring and sat forward slightly. Kagura, the member of Mermaid Heel with the military jacket, was walking into the arena with a sword bound into its scabbard by bandages. On the other side, Angel's little sister, Yukino, was walking in.

"So, what did you think of the match?" Mira asked.

"That was the most entertaining thing I've ever watched," Sado laughed. "I was expecting to watch you bounce her all over the arena as your She Devil form, but instead I got to shamelessly stare at you in a bikini for almost the entire match, and as an added bonus I got to see you in a wedding dress."

Mira smiled, leaning on his shoulder. "If you want to shamelessly watch me in a bikini, you just need to ask."

"I'll keep that in mind," Sado smiled, kissing her. "Want to take bets on this one?"

"I'm going with Kagura," Mira said.

"So am I," Sado nodded.

As he turned back to the fight, Yukino and Kagura both agreed to their own bet. The stakes were their lives. Yukino pulled out a golden key and Sado grinned. Another Celestial Wizard. Shame she couldn't fight Lucy instead of Kagura. After a moment, a pair of massive eels exploded out of a magic seal above her, one black, and the other white. They raced around in the air for several moments before both lunging at Kagura. She leapt over the first, the second shooting under her. As they continued to try and eat her, she used their bodies to flip over them, avoiding strike after strike. Finally, she landed on the ground just as the black eel shot around at her. Once again she flipped over the eel, landing on the white eel and running along it, continuing to dodge their strikes. Sado looked back to Yukino as she held up another golden key. This time, the spell circle was in front of her, and it left a woman with black hair in two buns, a white cloth in front of her nose and mouth with the symbol for Libra on it, a green bikini top, a green cloth hanging in front of her and behind her, and a small scale cup hanging from each hand, cords tethering them to her fingers.

"Now Libra, alter the target's field of gravity," Yukino ordered.

"As you wish," Libra said, swinging her arms as gravity began to slam down on Kagura, making her struggle to even stand.

"Go Pisces," Yukino ordered.

The two eels curved around in the air, shooting down at Kagura. However, as the eels crashed to the ground, Sado looked up, seeing Kagura flying upward into the air, unharmed.

"No way," Sado breathed. "She's good."

"Libra, rotate the target's center of gravity sideways," Yukino said.

Libra swung her arm and Kagura shot through the air, crashing into a statue's head before the head cratered and Kagura found herself unable to move. Pisces shot toward her, but just before they reached her, they halted, shaking for a moment before collapsing. Suddenly, gravity began to crash down on Libra, forcing her to the ground. Finally, Pisces crashed down on top of Libra and Kagura leapt to the ground, watching Yukino in silence.

"So, Kagura wields Gravity Change magic," Sado said. "Good to know."

"I'm afraid you leave me with no choice," Yukino said. "I'll have to open the Thirteenth Gate."

"The what?" Sado blinked. "Hey Lucy, I thought there were only twelve gold Celestial Spirit keys."

"There are," Lucy said.

Yukino held out a key and dark purple smoke and mist began to swirl around them, the arena darkening. "Open, gate of the Snake Charmer, Ophiuchus!"

A massive black and purple spell seal appeared over Yukino and Kagura charged into the smoke that suddenly shot out of it. Then, a pair of glowing purple eyes appeared in the smoke as a massive black snake began to write around in it. The snake coiled up above Yukino before lunging at Kagura, who gripped her sword, readying herself.

"Grudge Sword, Archenemy!" Kagura said, slashing without drawing the blade. "Sheathed Longsword Technique."

She sprinted forward as the snake exploded into multiple pieces, Yukino staring in shock, as were everyone in the stands. The dark aura in the arena cleared and Kagura reached Yukino.

"Your bet was ill-considered," Kagura said, slashing Yukino and stepping past her, leaving her lying on the ground, unmoving. "Sometimes a mermaid feasts on a tiger."

Everyone in the arena remained as silent as the dead, waiting to see what, if anything, would happen next.

"It looks like...that's the match folks," the announcer finally said. "And the winner is...Mermaid Heel's Kagura Mikazuchi!"

Cheers began to erupt around the stadium, Sado watching Yukino closely. Finally, she moved, beginning to cry.

"One last thing," Kagura said. "As per our bet, your life is in my hands. Understood?"

"Yes ma'am," Yukino whispered. "I understand completely."

Kagura walked out of the arena and Yukino lay there, crying silently.

"Ladies and gentlemen, that wraps up day two," the announcer said. "With a total of twenty six points, the team currently in first place is, Raven Tail! Second place, with twenty two points, its a tie between Fairy Tail A and Fairy Tail B! In fourth place, with twenty points, it's Sabertooth! In fifth, with nineteen, it's Mermaid Heel! Next up is Blue Pegasus with seventeen points! After them comes Cuatro _Puppy_ with twelve points! And coming in last is Lamia Scale with ten points!"

People began to file out of the coliseum, Sabertooth all taking off as well. Sado sighed, standing.

"I have to go and be a nice person now," Sado sighed. "See you at the bar."

Mira nodded and left with the others, Sado dropping into the arena and walking over to Yukino, kneeling beside her. She looked up at him and hurriedly wiped her eyes.

"It's okay," Sado said. "You don't have to play tough. It's hard thinking that you let your guild down. It hurts. I know."

"What do you want?" Yukino asked, tears still running out of her eyes.

"Are you alright?" Sado asked.

She nodded, pushing herself up and wiping her eyes again. "I'm fine. Just disappointed is all."

"You did amazingly," Sado said, Yukino blushing slightly and looking away. "Those were some amazingly powerful spirits you were summoning."

"It wasn't enough," Yukino said.

"No," Sado said. "It wasn't. But at least you still have the rest of the games to redeem yourself."

Yukino smiled slightly and nodded.

"I guess so," Yukino said. "Thank you."

"No problem," Sado smiled. "By the way, do you have an older sister?"

Yukino glared at him.

"That's not what I mean," Sado said. "What I mean is, I met a woman named Angel who looked a lot like you, but with longer hair."

"Angel?" Yukino asked, confused.

"She was a Celestial Spirit Mage the first time we met, then after that she used Angel Magic," Sado said, Yukino shaking her head slowly.

"I had a sister a long time ago, but she wasn't a mage," Yukino said. "Her name was Sorano, and she was...well...she's gone now."

"Was she taken to the Tower of Heaven?" Sado asked, Yukino staring at him in shock.

"How did you..." Yukino stared at him.

"One of my friends was there when she was young," Sado said. "And because Angel was there. I think Angel is Sorano, just using a different name. If she is, she's currently being held by the Magic Council. You could probably ask if you could visit it after the games if you wanted."

Yukino's eyes widened before she smiled and nodded, hope shining in her eyes. "Yes, I will. I...I hope it's her."

"So do I," Sado said. "Anyway, we should get going. I'm sure both of our guilds are looking for us."

Yukino nodded and they left the coliseum, splitting up and heading home.

* * *

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	66. Chapter 66

I do not own any of the original Fairy Tail characters.

* * *

Intruders

Sado stepped out of the bar, walking a short distance down the road before turning, Elfman stopping facing him, head held high, prepared to face Sado's wrath. Mira stood off to the side, watching in silence.

"Elfman," Sado said. "What the hell made you think it was a good idea to bet your sisters? What made you think you had the right?"

"I had confidence in my ability to win," Elfman said. "Too much confidence. I messed up, badly. I'm sorry."

Sado remained silent. Just thinking about the bet made him want to go on an all-out rampage on Elfman. He stepped forward, jumping and slamming his fist into Elfman's jaw, knocking him onto his ass but not doing much more than that, barely even causing much pain. Then, he sighed.

"Don't you ever pull a stunt like that again," Sado said. "Ever."

Elfman nodded as Mira walked over, glaring at him. Then, she slammed her fist into his head hard, bouncing his head off of the ground before catching him.

"I don't care that you bet me," Mira said. "I can take care of myself, and even if I couldn't, Sado would have never let Bacchus near me. But you bet Lisanna too. For that, it will be a very long time before I forgive you."

She punched him again, throwing him backward several meters before sighing.

"Let's head home," Sado said, resting a hand on her shoulder. "It's already late."

Mira nodded and they turned to find Bacchus swaying toward them from a bar down the road. Sado curled his hand into a fist as they passed, only to stop as he saw Bacchus turning in the corner of his eye.

"Hey there, hot stuff," Bacchus said. "Wanna keep me comp-"

He stopped as Sado lifted him by the throat, his free hand holding a ball of fire.

"Utter one more syllable and I burn your dick off," Sado snarled. "You clearly don't know me, but I'm the Sado, commonly known as Fairy Tail's Phoenix. However, it's more accurate to call me, the Fire Devil." He let his devil traits, minus his horns, grow into place, fear filling Bacchus's eyes, despite the wide, cocky, excited grin on his face. "If you come within a hundred feet of my girlfriend or her sister again, I promise you, I'll roast you alive. Do you understand me?"

"Yes!" Bacchus choked out. "Yes!"

Sado set Bacchus on his feet and Bacchus staggered back a couple of steps, staring at Sado in a mixture of awe and fear. Then, Sado let his flames go out and turned, walking away with Mira. As they walked, Mira wrapped her arms around him, Sado wrapping an arm around her waist as well, sighing.

"You let him off easy," Mira smiled.

"Just because I take the form of a devil doesn't make me one," Sado said. "I don't have to act like my species if I don't want to."

Mira giggled. "I meant Elfman. You could have done a lot worse than one punch and have been justified."

Sado shrugged. "He didn't lose."

"Hey, who's that?" Mira asked.

Sado looked, seeing someone staggering down the street, completely naked, and with a luggage back half-opened, dragging along behind her.

"Looks like someone's been having a fun night," Sado smirked before noticing the silver hair. "Wait...that's Yukino!"

Mira's eyes widened and they hurried forward, breaking into a run just as Yukino fell to her knees, sobbing into her hands. As they arrived, Sado ripped a sheet from a clothes line overhead, draping it around Yukino, who looked up at them in surprise before grabbing Sado, sobbing into his chest. Sado blinked in surprise before wrapping his arms around her.

"It's going to be okay," Mira said, resting a hand on the girl's shoulder. "What happened?"

"Sabertooth's Guild Master, Jiemma, was displeased with my performance today, so he ordered me to remove my clothes...and..." Yukino trailed off and Sado grit his teeth, mind going to the most logical conclusion. "He...he forced me to erase my guild emblem. I...I have nowhere to go. I have no guild to go back to."

Sado looked to Mira who nodded, smiling knowingly. "Come with us. Join Fairy Tail."

Yukino stared up at him in surprise. "What? I...you'd let me?"

"If Master Makarov agrees, yes," Sado said. "But don't worry about him. He's a pushover. And you'd be welcomed by our guild."

Yukino smiled, nodding. "Okay."

Sado smiled and helped her up, Yukino holding the sheet closed around herself. Then, Sado knelt, zipping her luggage back the rest of the way and picking it up. "Right this way."

Yukino followed them to their hotel, finding Makarov, Macao, Wakaba, and Laxus all just inside. They all froze upon seeing Yukino, wearing nothing but a sheet.

"My dear girl, what happened?" Makarov asked, the drunkenness he had had a moment before completely gone.

"She was excommunicated from Sabertooth for losing a match," Sado said.

"You're kidding!" Wakaba said.

"That's horrible," Macao said.

"We were hoping she'd be allowed to join this guild, Master," Mira said.

"I see," Makarov nodded. "Very well. Welcome to Fairy Tail. Mira will take you to find you a bed and something to wear, and she'll give you your guild crest as well."

Yukino nodded, tears rolling down her face. "Thank you! Thank you so much!"

"Of course," Makarov said, Mira guiding Yukino out of the room, taking her luggage from Sado. "Why was she only wearing a sheet?"

"Because Jiemma wanted to humiliate her, so he made her strip and remove her guild seal herself, in front of the whole guild, then kicked her out before she had time to pack properly or even get dressed," Sado said.

"I see," Makarov nodded. "I'm starting to like Sabertooth about as much as Raven Tail."

"Master, is there any way you can talk to the organizers?" Sado asked. "I want to fight Jiemma."

"Absolutely not," Makarov said. "Not only would you undoubtedly wind up destroying the city in a fight like that, but it would never be allowed."

"Understood," Sado nodded. "In that case, I think I'm going to head to bed."

Just then, Natsu walked out of a side door, murder written on his face.

"What are you..." Sado said before stopping. "You heard, I take it."

"Oh I heard," Natsu snarled. "I'm going to pay Sabertooth a visit."

"Oh no you're not!" Makarov said, Natsu ignoring him and sprinting out the door. "Hey! Come back here!"

"I've got him," Sado said, following Natsu out of the building.

Once outside, however, he saw that Natsu had already disappeared. He swore, turning and sprinting through the streets, heading for Sabertooth's hotel. Just as he reached the front door, several windows a couple stories up exploded. He leapt to the window, pulling himself in and chasing after Natsu. Just as he caught up with him, Natsu exploded into what seemed to be the main room, a large tree sitting in the center of it.

"Where is your master!?" Natsu demanded, kicking a Sabertooth member in the gut and hurling him. "Tell me! Bring him out now!"

"If you have something to say to me, you should say it!" a hulking giant of a man said.

He had tanned skin pulled tight over muscles bigger than Elfman's, a black metal hat, a messy white beard and mustache, the Sabertooth emblem on his forehead below his hat, a red shirt that left the right side of his torso and his right arm uncovered, tan pants, a necklace of large red beads, and black shoes. He stood almost double Sado and Natsu's height.

"You the master of this sorry bunch?" Natsu growled.

"Natsu, shut your mouth," Sado snarled, his own anger growing. "Master Makarov expressly forbid you from coming here. If you open your mouth again, I'll be forced to discipline you in Master's stead, and then Master will discipline you even worse when we return."

Natsu glanced at him and relaxed his posture slightly. Sado stepped forward.

"I take it you're Jiemma," Sado said. "I apologize for this intrusion. However, I do have something I would like to say to you. Your rules are that one loss means that you leave your guild, correct?"

"It is," Jiemma said.

"I see," Sado nodded. "Not that I think you care, though your replacement as Guild Master might, but would you like to know how I found Yukino? Naked on the side of the road and sobbing her eyes out because the only thing she's ever cared about was taken from her. Because she was forced to humiliate herself in front of her entire guild just because she was forced to fight someone that you yourself couldn't beat. So as repayment for what you did to her, and in order to save your sorry excuse for a guild from having to follow your ridiculous rules anymore, let's see if you follow your own rules. Shall we?"

"Kid, trust me, you don't want to tangle with our master," Olga said.

"That kid's going to get murdered," the small reddish-pink exceed off to Sado's right said.

"Trust me, I'll be just fine," Sado said. "I've been dying to see just how much stronger I've become since I got that thing opened, and this could be exactly what I need."

"What gives!?" Natsu said. "How come you can fight him and I can't!?"

"Because Master Makarov told you not to leave the hotel," Sado said. "He gave me no such order."

"Did you really come here just to challenge me?" Jiemma asked. "Very foolish."

"I came here to stop my guild mate," Sado said. "What I found was him being attacked by the guild master. So, as his friend, my only possible recourse is to beat you to a bleeding mess on the ground for it."

"Dobengal, deal with him," Jiemma said.

"Yes sir," a wizard behind Jiemma who was dressed like a ninja said, crouching.

"Alright, fine," Sado said. "You want me to make you kick out a few more members first, fine. We'll just recruit them too."

Dobengal sprinted forward, a spike of rainbow-colored energy stretching from his hand before he vanished, reappearing behind Sado. Sado stepped back, smashing his elbow into Dobengal's gut and knocking him out. He tossed him out of the way, eyes having never left Jiemma.

"No way!" one of the guild members watching shouted. "He beat Dobengal?"

"Anyone else you want to throw away because you're scared?" Sado asked. "You _do_ know who I am, right?"

"Master, I'll take him," Sting volunteered.

"You'll stay out of this," Jiemma said, stepping forward. "Yes, I know who, and what, you are. You're Fairy Tail's Fire Devil, arguably one of the most powerful being on the planet, save for Zeref, Acnologia, and the Four Gods of Ishgar. Fine. I'll fight you."

Sado shot forward, flames shooting out of his feet, and punched at Jiemma, Jiemma blocking it with ease. He shoved Sado back but flames instantly shot out of Sado's back, launching him forward again so that he could drive a flaming first into Jiemma's face, making him step back once. Then, Sado began to slam punches into him rapidly, noticing that, despite Jiemma being thrown around from the waist up, his feet didn't move. He leapt back, forming a fireball and hurling it at Jiemma. Before it could hit anything, a woman in a blue dress appeared in front of Jiemma, hands glowing, and the fireball exploded against the wall off to the side. Sado blinked. lowering his hands.

"Minerva," Jiemma snarled. "How dare you get in my way?"

"Forgive me," Minerva said. "You could defeat this man easily, so I'm not doing this for you, Father."

"What do you want?" Sado asked.

"You must consider how this altercation would look to the outside world," Minerva said. "Despite the fact that you are clearly the aggressor, the news of our Master killing a competitor would leave Sabertooth in an awkward position, to say the very least. It would certainly put a damper on the games."

"Lady, I've been alive for four hundred years," Sado said. "And in that time, I've almost died only three times. Not one of those times were ever because of someone as weak as Jiemma. However, you have a point as far as public opinion is involved. And Master will be...displeased with us enough as it is. Fine. For the time being, we'll pretend not to be angry with you if you forget this happened."

"Deal," Minerva said, Lisanna suddenly appearing in front of her, bound and gagged. "You may have your friend back now."

She shoved her at Sado, and Sado caught her, flames exploding out of his back instantly. He formed his claws, cutting Lisanna free, then stepped past her.

"Your one chance just went up in flames you bitch!" Sado snarled. "Now you die!"

He leapt at Minerva faster than she could react, slashing. Almost faster than anyone could react, Jiemma stepped in front of Minerva, punching Sado and sending him blasting backward into the wall. Sado dropped onto his feet and glared at him as Jiemma turned, slamming his fist into Minerva as well, blasting her backward into the wall on the far side.

"Enough!" Jiemma said. "You two, leave now! You have your friend, unharmed, and a deal was struck. I will punish Minerva myself."

Sado wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth. Jiemma was stronger than he looked. And faster.

"Fine," Sado said. "But if I meet Minerva in a game, do not expect her to return able to walk. Or feed herself."

With that, he turned, Lisanna and Natsu following. Once they got back to the hotel, all three knelt in front of Makarov.

"Natsu reached their Guild Master before I could catch him," Sado reported. "Once I had stopped them fighting, one of their members revealed she had kidnapped Lisanna. I lost my temper and attacked them, but Jiemma ended it and allowed us to leave."

"I see," Makarov said. "Go to bed, all of you. Natsu, Sado...when will the two of you learn restraint?"

"Soon, Master," Sado said.

"You had better," Makarov said. "You're lucky that I don't take you out of the games. Go to bed. We're not finished with these games yet."

Both bowed and left for the bedroom, falling asleep instantly.

* * *

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	67. Chapter 67

I do not own any of the original Fairy Tail characters.

* * *

Day 3

Sado glanced at the announcer's box, Lahar nodding to him. Sado nodded back and stood.

"I'll be right back," Sado said.

"Hurry back," Mira said. "The game's about to start."

Sado nodded, smiling, and walked out of the seats, into the hallways inside the stadium. Within a hundred feet, he found Mest waiting.

"Mest," Sado smiled. "How've you been?"

"Good," Mest smiled. "How've things on your end been?"

"Quiet," Sado said. "There's been no sign of them. Tell me you guys have figured out who they are."

"No, I'm sorry," Mest said. "But there _has_ been a development."

"What's that?" Sado asked.

"Three more devils have been found dead," Mest said. "An Ice Devil, a Smoke Devil, and a Wind Devil."

"More huh?" Sado asked. "I assume the same amount of evidence was found."

"That's right," Mest nodded.

"Joy," Sado sighed. "So, how's Angel doing?"

"Good," Mest nodded. "She'll be out of prison in a few weeks."

"That's good," Sado smiled. "You know, the others are all in there if you want to see them."

"I don't know," Mest said. "It hasn't been that long for you all that I left you all on the island."

"Because we wouldn't leave with you," Sado smiled. "You're fine. Come say hi."

Mest sighed. "Alright. I'll think about it. Maybe I'll say hi later."

Sado shook his head, chuckling. "Alright. Well, I need to get back. Oh, by the way, someone I know thinks Angel is their sister. They want to visit her to be sure after the games."

"I'm sure that would be acceptable," Mest said.

"Good," Sado smiled. "Gotta go."

He walked back to the seats, sitting beside Mira as a massive black castle touched the ground, extended from a purple spell circle. The pumpkin creature that had been playing the mascot for the games so far showed a video of a monster that looked like some mechanical canine roaring as it prowled around a room somewhere in the castle. Then, he said that there were one hundred total monsters, both as weak as that one and stronger, ranked from D to S.

"A hundred?" Sado blinked. "Of all the days for me to not compete."

The pumpkin explained that each member would be allowed to choose how many monsters to face, and then would gain points for the number they defeated. The game would end either when all of the monsters were defeated, or when all of the wizards had run out of strength. He also explained that the monsters were chosen at random, and that higher ranked monsters did _not_ earn more points. Everyone drew straws to see when they would go, Erza going first and getting a straw above which a number one appeared. Cana got one saying she would go eighth. Before everyone had even drawn straws, Erza stepped up to the ramp into the castle, demanding to fight all one hundred monsters. Everyone stared at her like she was nuts, but, she had chosen. So, she walked into the castle. Then, she went berserk. Monsters attacked her left and right, the C-class monsters using fire magic on her and the B-class ones using water magic. However, no matter how many attacked her, or with what, she slaughtered them all, even going so far as to use her Sea Empress armor's sword with her Flame Empress armor, and her Lightning Empress armor's spear with her Sea Empress armor. She used her Purgatory Armor's sword with her speed armor. And several other combinations. No matter what she used, Sado was only more impressed by her skill as she did. The only downside was, she was losing energy fast by having to requip so much.

As she fought, explosions periodically went off through the castle walls, scattering dust and debris around the arena floor. Sado smiled. If anyone could pull some shit like this off, it was Erza. Eventually, the fight inevitably left the castle, Erza jumping around the outside and slaughtering them just as easily as inside. And the combinations just kept getting more and more creative, and more and more costly. He even saw her swinging around the hammer from the Infinity Clock debacle once or twice. Finally, the only monster left was the S-Class monster. Sado had a theory what it was. He had seen a tiny brown spider-looking thing with an eyeball on it scurrying around the entire fight. He'd bet money it was the S-Class monster. More accurately, that it was a part of the S-Class monster.

"Ninety nine monsters down!" the announcer shouted. "Only the S-class monster remains! What kind of horror awaits her!" the screens all showed the spider thing he had seen earlier. "Wait, what the..."

"I knew it," Sado grinned. "Be careful Erza."

"What do you mean?" Mira asked.

"It's based off of an actual creature," Sado smirked.

Suddenly, the tiny spider expanded into a massive creature with a body shaped like black armor and with a three-eyed skull for a head, two massive horns reaching off of it. Erza and the monster began to fight, the monster rapidly beating Erza back, driving her to the top of the tower, a very small round platform with bowls of burning blue flames at the top. For several moments, it looked like the monster might win. Then, Erza got tired of being hit and killed it too. Everyone, all around the stadium began to cheer, Fairy Tail members hugging themselves. Even Yukino celebrated Erza's victory. Sado merely grinned.

"That...was...unbelievable!" the announcer shouted after a long time of stunned silence. "Erza Scarlet has single handedly defeated all one hundred monsters! Fairy Tail Team A sweeps today's contest in an absolute, undisputed victory! Let it be known, we've just witnessed history! The strongest guild from seven years ago has returned from the grave!"

Deafening cheers. The tower faded, the spell circle dropping to the ground and depositing Erza on the ground before also fading. Sado and the rest of Team A, currently including Wendy in place of Gray since he had decided to sit that day out for some reason, all rushed out onto the field, Natsu grabbing Erza in a hug and spinning her before setting her back down.

"I'm sorry guys," Erza said. "It took me a bit longer than I expected to finish."

"Forget about that," Sado laughed. "You just beat a hundred monsters that were supposed to be able to take all eight of you down. And you did it alone. You're awesome!"

"You could have done it," Erza said.

"Oh don't misunderstand," Sado said. "I'm pissed I missed the chance to do it, but no one could have done it as awesomely as you. I would have just lit the whole castle on fire and let it burn."

Erza laughed. It was announced that Erza had won them first place and she and the others from Team A left the arena, watching as the pumpkin walked over to the others. As he did, a device consisting of a hovering platform, a crystal ball, and a ring of light floated down next to him. He explained that it was a Magic Power Finder, MPF for short, which would give a numerical value to the amount of strength a spell had. The remaining seven would all be hitting it to rank themselves based on whose attack had the most power behind it, since they were out of monsters. Sado sighed. Another thing he wanted to do.

He looked out at the competitors as Millianna threw her cloak off, leaving her even less decent than before, Sado holding a hand in front of Romeo's eyes, making Mira giggle.

"Knock it off," Romeo said, pushing the hand away. "I wanna see how she does. Why are you guys even sitting up here? Why have you been all week? I thought competitors had to be down stairs."

"We can survive jumping off the wall, so we're allowed to stay," Sado said.

Just then, Millianna's spell, a spiraling pink energy beam, scored three hundred sixty five points.

"Since we didn't set a score for benchmark, I'm not actually sure if that's a good number or not," the announcer said.

"Maybe I can help," Lahar said. "We Rune Knights use MPFs for training. She actually did rather well. That score qualifies her for squad captain."

"No wonder Rune Knights are so weak," Sado snorted, Mira slapping him lightly on the shoulder.

"Not so loud!" Mira laughed.

"Wow, what an impressive start!" the announcer said.

"I am one pumped up kitty!" Millianna shouted.

Just then, Cuatro Puppy's contender struck the MPF, getting a one hundred twenty four. Then, Hibiki stepped forward. Sado grinned. Hibiki's Archive magic would do absolutely nothing here. It would be interesting to see how he got around that. However, before Sado could see what he did, he glanced at Romeo, seeing him staring at something, and turned to look, a wide grin covering his face. Wendy.

"Careful you don't let her see you staring Romeo," Sado said quietly, Romeo blushing and looking back at the contestants as Hibiki's score of ninety five popped up. "Try asking her on a date. She'd probably say yes."

Romeo blushed even more and stomped on his foot, Sado chuckling. He looked out at the field where Hibiki was clinging to Cana around the abdomen, Cana stroking his hair and offering to "cheer him up tonight" if he wanted. Sado covered his mouth, bursting into a laughing fit, several of the other adults doing the same.

"Next up is Obra of the Raven Tail guild," the announcer said.

Obra lifted his cape, the little imp thing jumping off of his chest and slamming into the orb then jumping back, scoring four point. Suddenly, Cana stole the mascot's hat, laughing and swaying, the pile of over a dozen beer kegs behind her explaining why. Finally, Olga stepped forward and Sado shifted forward in his seat. He gripped the arms of his chair tightly. He knew what he had seen in Olga's fight. The lightning had been black. It _had_ to be Lightning God Slayer magic. There was no other explanation.

Olga extended his hands, a sphere of black lightning forming between his hands. "One Twenty Millimeter Black Lightning Cannon!"

The lightning shot out as a beam, blasting into the orb and throwing of bolts of electricity for several seconds. Then, a score of three thousand eight hundred twenty five appeared, the crowd going absolutely berserk. Lahar was staring in utter shock. Then, Olga took the mic and began to sing again, Sado once again laughing. Once he was done, Jura stepped forward.

"Do you mind if I give it my all?" Jura asked.

"That's the game, isn't it?" the pumpkin asked.

"Here he goes folks, what does Jura have in store for us?" the announcer asked just before the ground began to shake.

"Rumbling Fuji!" Jura shouted, the ground before him exploding skyward as a beam of pure white magic energy shot out of the ground, filling almost half the stadium.

Sado gaped at the column of light. That had to have broken the MPF. That spell would have probably put even him down for the count. However, when the spell, and the dust it had kicked up, faded, the MPF was fine. And the number eight thousand five hundred forty four was hovering above it.

"Oh my," Mira said. "That's quite the spell."

"That's...I am _so_ never fighting him," Sado said.

Mira laughed as Cana stepped forward, an empty liquor bottle in her hand.

"I hope she at least gets ahead of Millianna," Sado said. "Even if there's no way she's beating Jura or Olga."

Cana walked forward, dropping the bottle as she did, the pumpkin wishing her luck. Then, she pulled her blouse off, a glowing red seal appearing on her right forearm, Sado jumping to his feet and leaning forward.

"No fucking way!" Sado gaped. "She still has that!?"

"Now, the grand finale!" Cana shouted.

"Er, first master?" Makarov asked.

"I lent it to her for this special occasion," Mavis said. "Now she's sure to win."

"How come I never get to use the big ones," Sado said, dropping back into his seat and slouching. "No one loves me."

Mira giggled, kissing him. "I still love you."

"True," Sado said, sitting up so he could see. "That MPF is going to explode."

Cana raised her arm, golden magic energy exploding up around her. "It's time to assemble, oh river of light that's guided by fairies!"

"Sado, using that spell is not easy," Mavis said. "It takes incredible concentration and power. Cana has both."

"I have both!" Sado said.

"Yes, but they would all kill you," Mavis said. "You're not human."

Several people stared at them and Sado cleared his throat, scratching the back of his head.

"Shine your light so that I may vanquish the fangs of wickedness! Fairy Glitter!" Cana cast the spell, the ring of light shooting down and blasting the MPF, the explosion obliterating the ground and hurling Cana backward.

As the smoke finally cleared, the number nine thousand nine hundred ninety nine was hovering in the air, and the MPF was in pieces. The Magic energy from Cana's forearm streamed off of it, fading and taking the crest with it. Sado stared at the remains of the MPF then slouched onto the wall.

"I wanna use the big ones too," Sado groaned.

"Well you can't," Makarov said. "Master Mavis said no, so that's all there is to it."

Sado sighed, watching as Cana played to the crowd, getting everyone cheering. Finally, he sat up, cracking his neck. It was time for the battle rounds. The first round was Millianna against Cuatro Puppy's Semmes, the one with the blue face. The fight was short with Semmes spinning like a top and knocking Millianna around for a couple of minutes before she managed to tie him up, her magic cancelling his as it had Sado and the others so long ago. Next was Eve against Rufus Lore. Eve started out by trying to his Rufus with a generic Snow Magic blast. However, Rufus was already using his Memory Make Magic, and the attack hit nothing but a memory of him. Eve claimed to have memorized all of Rufus's spells, so Rufus summoned a memory of Ichiya in a bathtub with a glass of wine. Sado threw up in his mouth a bit at the sight, but it distracted Eve enough for Rufus to land a strike, throwing him. Then, Rufus used the same homing attack he had used during the Hidden game on the first day, only for the spell to hit a snow clone. Eve summoned a blizzard as Lahar explained that Eve used to be a Rune Knight, then he sent an attack at seemingly nothing, the real Rufus leaping over the attack.

"I have already memorized that spell," Rufus said, placing his hands to his head. "I'll counter it with Memory Make."

Suddenly, the entire world began to turn orange, Eve looking around at it, then back at Rufus. Suddenly, massive red-hot stone spikes grew out of the ground around Eve like teeth. Rufus grinned, slamming his hand on the ground.

"Karma of the Scorching Earth!" Rufus shouted.

A massive explosion of fire and magic energy shot through the ground from him to Eve, hurling Eve away from Rufus. Eve crashed down hard, badly burned and unable to move, trembling in agony. The bell rang instantly.

"And that's the match!" the announcer shouted. "Looks like another win for Sabertooth. And it's all thanks to Rufus. That man is on fire!"

Eve was carried out of the arena and Rufus returned to his guild. Then, Laxus was called into the ring, along with Alexei, the leader of Raven Tail who was wearing the gold armor. Sado stood, leaning on the railing and watching carefully. There was no way Raven Tail would play fair.

* * *

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	68. Chapter 68

I do not own any of the original Fairy Tail characters.

* * *

Disqualified

Laxus walked forward, eyes never leaving Alexei. "A mysterious member of my old man's guild. That's nice. You wanna tell me who you really are?"

Before he could react, Alexei had broken into a run and punched him, throwing him backward. Then, just as he landed, Alexei slammed a kick into him. Then, he blasted him with a beam of dark energy. Laxus skidded across the ground for a ways before stopping, gritting his teeth. Then, Alexei appeared behind him, continuing to pummel him.

Above the Laxus lying on the ground, the real one watched as he got up, beginning to be pummeled some more.

"Care to tell me what's going on?" Laxus asked.

"A type of illusionary magic," Alexei said. "It's the only way we could have a private conversations. The others cannot see or hear us, even though we're standing right in front of them. They're watching an illusion of the two of us fighting. Incredibly convincing isn't it? Not a single person has noticed. They're too busy watching you struggle to stand your ground in a losing fight."

Off to the side, the Thunder Legion began to cheer.

"It must be nice to know your guild mates hold you in such high regard," Alexei said. "I'm sure they're absolutely heartbroken watching you fall to your enemy like this."

"I don't get it," Laxus said. "This plan of yours doesn't make any sense at all. What's the point of beating me with an illusion? I mean, can you call that a win?"

"Obviously victory in this match is not our ultimate goal," Alexei said. "The purpose of the illusion is to distract those around us. And if I control the illusion, I control the outcome of the match as well."

Case and point, Illusion Laxus was currently being choked out one-handed by Illusion Alexei between the two.

"Control it?" Laxus asked. "How so?"

Suddenly, Illusion Laxus broke free, blasting Illusion Alexei into a wall across the arena before coating his fists in lightning and charging, beating Illusion Alexei around for several moments before firing a lightning bolt out of his mouth at him, seemingly ending the match. However, when the fake dust settled, Illusion Alexei was fine, and blasted Laxus into a wall with a beam of dark energy.

"So that's your idea of controlling the match?" Laxus asked. "You think I care?"

"The point is, I can arrange for you to win this match depending on how our negotiations fare," Alexei said.

Laxus dropped his coat, his lightning racing over his body. "Ain't no way I'm falling for that. I don't really give a crap about your stupid illusion. But I can't wait to get my hands on the real you so I can defeat you here and now."

"That's not going to happen," Flare Corona said, appearing behind Alexei with Nalpudding.

"Reality can be pretty harsh sometimes," Nalpudding said as the other two appeared as well.

"Your power is impressive," Alexei said. "But not even the strongest of wizards could defeat all of Raven Tail at once." He reached up, pulling his mask off. "There's one more thing to consider. I'm sure you're aware of just how powerful I am." He smiled at Laxus, having revealed his face to his son at last. "Aren't you, my boy?"

"You know, I had a feeling you were behind that mask, Deadbeat Dad," Laxus said.

"Makarov would rather die than reveal this secret," Ivan Dreyer said. "On the other hand, you're a different story. Surely I can depend on my son. Now, tell me where to find the Lumen Histoire."

"Sorry, never heard of it," Laxus said.

"Don't try to play dumb with me," Ivan said.

"I'm not," Laxus said.

"If Makarov was to tell anyone, it would be his beloved grandson," Ivan said.

"Guess not because I don't know what you're talking about," Laxus said.

"He must have told you something about it," Ivan said.

"Nope," Laxus said. "But even if the old geezer had, it's not like I would ever tell you."

"Come now, I'm offering you the chance to emerge victorious out of what is otherwise an utterly hopeless situation," Ivan said. "If you dare to refuse my terms, the illusionary one won't be the only one getting a thrashing.

"You think you can scare me?" Laxus asked, lightning flying off of him again. "Better think again old man. It's no wonder the old geezer gave up on you. Come at me, all of you. If you're an enemy of Fairy Tail's master, then that makes you my enemy too."

"I think it's about time for your father to teach you an important lesson!" Ivan said, dark magical energy flying off of all the Raven Tail members, Ivan's eyes glowing red. "The guild standing before you was created for one reason. To take down Fairy Tail once and for all."

"So you created Raven Tail just to take us down, huh?" Laxus asked.

"Isn't he brilliant?" Flare asked.

"I hand-picked every member because they each specialize in a form of magic that Fairy Tail Members are woefully ill-equipped to deal with," Ivan said.

"And aside from our Master, we're the four most elite!" Black Snake said.

"Taking us all on would be akin to suicide boy," Ivan warned.

"Oh yeah?" Laxus asked, starting to feel excited about fighting the five of them.

"We've spent years trying to find out the best way to bring you to your knees," Ivan said. "But if words aren't enough, by all means, test our power, and see what happens."

"The old geezer's been doing his homework too, you know," Laxus said.

"The little troll's spying on us?" Ivan snarled.

"You got it, pops," Laxus said. "Everything from Raven Tail's ranks and locations, to its operating fronts and activities over the past seven years. He knows it all."

"It must have been Gajeel!" Flare said. "I knew he would betray us Master."

"Yeah I always had a feeling that despicable iron-chomping creep couldn't be trusted," Nalpudding said.

"To think he was a double-agent the whole time," Ivan growled.

"He never really struck me as being all that clever but it appears I misjudged him," Black Snake said.

"Does this seem strange to anyone else?" Flare asked.

"If Makarov knew our secret, why didn't he act on it when he had the chance?" Nalpudding asked.

"Cause the stubborn old fool has a real knack for holding back when he shouldn't," Laxus said. "You see, I talked to the old man about it. He said that he was certain you never leaked any of the dirt you had on Fairy Tail. He said you knew it would be too damaging. He also said that you left our guild members alone while they were defenseless. Because of that, he said as long as you didn't mess with us, we wouldn't mess with you."

Ivan stared at Laxus in disbelief.

"Hurts, huh?" Laxus asked. "After everything you've done, the old geezer still managed to have a little faith in you. Cause you're his son."

Suddenly, Ivan clenched his teeth so hard they broke, tiny pieces of them flying out of his mouth.

"SILENCE! ! !" Ivan shouted, swiping his hand and sending hundreds of paper dolls flying at Laxus, who kept them from hitting him by surrounding himself with lightning. "Every waking moment I lived in the shadows was to prepare for this day! All so that I could have the Lumen Histoire within my grasp! Did he think I was being passive out of the goodness of my heart!? Of course I wasn't! Because I knew your guild's pathetic left-overs wouldn't know anything about what I wanted! The guild hall, Magnolia, even Tenrou Island itself! I checked everything even remotely connected to Fairy Tail, but I still never found it! Tell me where the Lumen Histoire is Laxus! STOP HIDING IT! ! ! You're my son aren't you!?" Ivan flexed his hand, the paper dolls all spiraling into a sphere over them. "Where's your loyalty to your family?"

A massive glowing blue symbol consisting of two horizontal lines with a dot between them appeared on the sphere, which began to glow purple. The sphere shot toward Laxus, who grit his teeth. Memories of the others flooded his mind. Makarov telling him that anyone who endangered the guild had to be excommunicated, blood ties or no. Natsu saying that blood ties were irrelevant, since the entire guild should be family. Sado beating the shit out of him in a matter of seconds for harming that family. Laxus grinned.

 _And here I was hoping I could have a rematch against you, Sado,_ Laxus thought. _Then you had to go and get that second origin of yours opened up. Oh well. I learned a few tricks from you the first time. Like this one._

He formed lightning into his right palm, keeping it there as he spiked his Magic Energy, allowing Ivan's attack to hit him, barely hurting him. Then, as it cleared, he grinned.

"Oh so that's it," Ivan said. "I was wondering why you let that spell hit you. You were testing the limits of my magic power weren't you? Or is it something else? You can't bear to fight your dear old daddy can you? What a good boy you are!"

"Laxus!" Makarov shouted, holding up his hand, pointing his index finger to the sky, thumb extended.

Laxus smiled. He wouldn't lose. It was over.

"Do it now, Ob-" Ivan was cut off by Laxus punching at Obra, sending out a blast of lightning that had condensed into a laser-like beam.

The blast exploded against Obra, blasting the man away from the others and into the wall of the arena, knocking him unconscious and leaving scorch marks across his body.

"The next time you're gonna pick on a little girl, you'd better not let me hear about it!" Laxus growled. "Maybe you'll all have to tell him once he wakes up. If I didn't kill him."

Flare sent her hair at him, flames racing along them, but he swiped a hand, lightning blasts shooting out and blasting her hair, burning it and making her shriek in rage as Nalpudding leapt at him. Laxus smirked.

"Needle Blast!" Nalpudding shouted, swiping at him rapidly, only for Laxus to easily evade the punches.

"As for you," Laxus said, lightning coating his fist. "Gray sends his regards!"

He slammed his fist into Nalpudding, sending him blasting across the arena floor. Then, Flare's hair wrapped around him, binding his arms to his sides and lighting on fire.

"I got you now, Blondie!" Flare said.

"You think so huh?" Laxus growled. "Think again!"

He exhaled a massive blast of lightning, the blast hitting Flare and launching her, also freeing him. He pulled the last of the hair off of himself and turned to Ivan. Suddenly, Black Snake rose behind him as sand, reforming.

"Sand Fake!" Black Snake said.

"Man you are a creep," Laxus said, stomping his foot and sending lightning exploding out of the ground from under him. "Get lost loser!"

"How?" Ivan gaped. "My elite squad's been taken out!"

"Look deadbeat," Laxus growled. "I don't know what your goal is here, and frankly, I don't care. But there's only one thing you're getting for your trouble. Pain!"

"No wait!" Ivan pleaded as lightning raced over Laxus's body. "I'm still your father! Don't you have any respect!? You would harm me!? Laxus, I'm your own flesh and blood!"

"Fairy Tail is my only family now!" Laxus snarled.

"Then you'll share in their doom you pathetic ingrate!" Ivan shouted, paper dolls by the thousands swarming at him. "Begone!"

Lightning exploded up from the ground, blasting them all into pieces as Lightning pulled his fist back, lightning flying off of it as more exploded out of his back and feet, launching him at Ivan.

"Anyone who threatens them, get's no mercy from me!" Laxus shouted, setting his feet in front of Ivan and blasting his fist into Ivan's gut, the lightning exploding into a bolt, blasting Ivan backward into the wall of the coliseum, the illusion everyone had been watching fading.

Everyone began to shout about being confused, Laxus simply glaring at Ivan. Finally, the announcer explained that Laxus had, in fact, defeated the entire Raven Tail team, and everyone began to cheer.

"Not only did five members of the guild illegally participate in a one-on-one match, but their Guild Master partook in the games as well," Yajima said. "This is a brazen violation of the tournament rules!"

"The winner of day three's third match is Laxus Dreyer!" the pumpkin announced.

Laxus turned, walking toward the exit, stopping as Ivan spoke.

"Wait, Laxus," Ivan said. "I admit I lost this round, but there's...something you should know. The Lumen Histoire is Fairy Tail's darkest secret of all. Someday, you're going to learn that first-hand. Then you'll learn what your family really is."

Soldiers walked into the arena, beginning to gather the Raven Tail members. However, as they were picking up Obra, the little imp thing that had been with him the entire time leapt out of the back of its head, fleeing as Raven Tail was announced to be disqualified and banned from the games for three years. Laxus sighed, walking into the hallway and then stopping as Sado stepped out of the shadows, arms crossed.

"You did well," Sado smiled. "Five on one, not back. We might have to fight again some time."

"Now that your Second Origin is open, that's not going to happen," Laxus said. "It'd be no different than before. Especially with you able to use your true power at will, now."

Sado smiled and nodded.

"Thank you," Laxus said. "You're part of the reason why I was able to defeat them."

"How so?" Sado asked.

"Being put in my place by you so thoroughly back then gave me the drive I needed to try and become as powerful as I thought I was back then," Laxus said. "If I hadn't, I never would have become stronger than my father. So thank you."

"You're welcome," Sado smiled.

Laxus continued walking but Sado caught him on the shoulder.

"He wanted the Lumen Histoire, right?" Sado asked, Laxus staring at him in surprise. "I thought so."

"How do _you_ know about it?" Laxus asked.

"I'm a four hundred year old devil," Sado said. "I've heard about a lot of things. I don't actually know what, or where, the Lumen Histoire is, but I know that it's Fairy Tail's precious secret. It's the embodiment of Fairy Tail's light."

"Ivan said it was Fairy Tail's darkness," Laxus said.

"He heard that from Hades, I'm sure," Sado said. "But he's wrong. Though I may not know what it is, I know that it's not darkness."

Laxus nodded. "Come on. I'm sure the others are waiting."

Sado nodded and they walked back to the stands together.

* * *

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	69. Chapter 69

I do not own any of the original Fairy Tail characters.

* * *

Taking The Lead

Sado watched as Wendy walked into the arena, preparing to fight Shelia. Then, Shelia tripped, crashing down hard.

"Oh my goodness!" Wendy said, moving to help her up. "You're not injured are you?"

And then Wendy tripped, crashing down in exactly the same fashion as Shelia. Sado snorted in amusement.

"It's like another Wendy, except older," Sado smiled.

They stood, Wendy making the first move. She enchanted herself for speed and power, then used a Sky Dragon Wing attack. Shelia easily evaded it, responding with a Sky God's Boreas. Sado shot out of his seat so fast he actually jumped a few of the others, leaning over the railing and staring at the pitch black wind-type magic tornado that Wendy barely avoided.

"No fucking way!" Sado breathed. "Sky God Slayer? Her? Unreal!"

Shelia sent waved of black wind at Wendy, who used her own magic to defend against it, only for Shelia to appear beside her.

"Sky God Dance!" Shelia shouted, black wind exploding up from below Wendy, blasting her into the air.

As Shelia leapt after Wendy, Wendy flipped, blasting her at point blank range with a Sky Dragon Talon, blasting her back into the ground. As they both got to their feet, Wendy fired a Sky Dragon Roar, Shelia launching a Sky God Bellow back, the two blasts hitting and exploding, except that Shelia's magic was inherently stronger, and continued, blasting Wendy. As the dust settled, Wendy was on her knees, battered and bruised with her clothes torn, while Shelia was standing, smiling confidently.

"I know what you are," Wendy said, pushing herself up. "I wasn't expecting this."

"Well Lyon told me all about you," Shelia said. "I was really excited when I learned you used magic that's similar to my own. Maybe a little too excited. Sorry. Did I go overboard?"

"No I'll be fine," Wendy said. "It's a fight, after all."

"Since we're here we might as well have some fun with it, right?" Shelia asked.

"Yeah I guess so," Wendy said. "I've never figured out how fighting others could be such a source of entertainment for some people. But I'll do my best for Fairy Tail."

"I like your attitude Wendy," Shelia said. "Then I'll fight extra hard for love and Lamia Scale."

Shelia moved first, blasting Wendy. Wendy used a Sky Dragon Wing Attack to try and hit her back but Shelia blocked it, then blasted Wendy again. Sado had to hand it to Shelia. Her control and manipulation of her magic was perfect. Suddenly, Wendy and Shelia both began to inhale, eating air to replenish their strength, though Sado still couldn't see how it was different than breathing. Still, after several seconds, Wendy held her hands out to the sides, a massive tornado of wind forming around the two, trapping both.

"Dragon Slayer Secret Art, Shattering Light, Sky Drill!" Wendy shouted, swinging her glowing hands across her body as the wind behind her exploded into a massive tornado, shooting toward Shelia.

Shelia had no time to block or dodge it, taking the full force of the blast and being thrown by it. The pumpkin ran over, then began to announce Wendy as the winner, only for Shelia to stand quickly, stopping him as she healed completely, Sado's mouth falling open. That was just completely unfair.

"You're not hurt are you?" Shelia asked. "I was hoping we could play some more."

Wendy swayed dangerously on her feet, barely able to stay standing.

"Whoa, you're not going to give up, are you?" Shelia asked. "Listen, I don't hate fighting, but I don't love it either. It's only going to get worse for you if you keep dragging it out, since it's obvious I'm going to win. You should just give up, 'kay?"

"No I can't!" Wendy said, sounding to be on the verge of tears. "The fact that I'm still standing right here in front of you, means that I'm not backing down. I'm willing to give everything I've got for my guild. I don't need your pity. I'm not giving up so please, come and get me! Beat me until I fall to the ground! Can you do that?"

Sado smiled, sitting back down, looking to the side and seeing Romeo was on his feet as Sado had been initially. Sado smiled. The kid sure did have it bad.

"Well if that's what you really want," Shelia said.

"It is!" Wendy nodded.

"Okay," Shelia said. "Well then I guess it's time for _my_ big attack."

Waves of black wind began to swarm around her, forming up in front of her hands, which were held out to the sides.

"It'll all be over once I hit you with this one," Shelia said, spinning. "God Slayer Secret Art!"

Suddenly, black feathers made entirely of wind flew off of her wrists, blowing around her as her black wind raged around. Then, the feathers formed up into an arc in front of her. Then, they fired in a massive, spiraling blast.

"Gathering, Clouds of Heaven!" Shelia shouted, four black wings forming behind her as she did.

Then, suddenly, the blast shot over Wendy, barely missing. Sado blinked. He had to be missing something.

"Confused?" Mira asked.

"A little," Sado said. "Did Wendy do something?"

"Wendy restored Shelia's magic energy just as Shelia fired, which threw the spell off course," Mira explained.

"That's possible?" Sado blinked. "Smart girl."

"What a great tactic!" Shelia commended. "Way to go!"

Wendy leapt at Shelia, wind coating her hand. "Sky Dragon, Crushing Fang!"

She punched at Shelia, who deflected it. Both jumped, spinning and kicking at the other, wind magic spiraling around them as their kicks met, kicking up a cloud of dust but not hurting either. They began to trade punches, using their magic first to enhance their own strikes, then to block the others when they switched back. Finally, the bell sounded, both stopping, panting for breath but smiling. It was a draw. Five points to both. Everyone was cheering. The announcer went on and on about how cute Shelia and Wendy were, and then, finally, he announced the scores, letting hem all leave for the night.

Sado was the first one to the bar, ordering several drinks for everyone and setting them up before sitting down and grinning. Mira arrived next, greeting him with a knowing smile and a kiss. Then, the others began to arrive. Everyone cheered upon seeing the drinks, Cana cheering at seeing four kegs set aside for her.

"First three rounds have been paid for," Sado said, everyone looking at him. "Or in Cana's case, one round. Anyway, as of today, Fairy Tail's in the lead ,and Raven Tail is out of our hair!"

Everyone cheered, beginning to drink. Barely minutes later, Natsu, Gray, and Erza were barrel surfing on the menu sign from outside. Sado laughed. After he had finished his first drink, Mira sat in his lap, giving him a knowing look and he chuckled.

"Don't worry," Sado said. "I'm only drinking the one."

"You mean you _already drank_ the one," Mira corrected.

"Exactly," Sado smiled, just as Lyon and Shelia walked in. "Oh God, please don't let Ur win the bet."

Mira looked around, seeing both Lamia Scale wizards greeting a few of the others before going to talk to Ur. Mira grimaced.

"I'm sure it'll be fine," Mira said. "I hope."

Sado nodded in agreement before sighing. He kissed Mira, who happily returned the kiss, before they both settled in to watch the others make fools of themselves. Shockingly, no one broke anything, even with the repeated rounds of barrel surfing. And no brawls started. But aside from that, Everything was about the same as always. Even Laxus and Makarov showed up and joined in after a little while. Lisanna met them both at the door, handing Makarov a bottle and Laxus a shot. Laxus smiled, shaking his head, and he and Lisanna both took a shot. Then, Lisanna hurried away, getting in on the barrel surfing.

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	70. Chapter 70

I do not own any of the original Fairy Tail characters.

* * *

Day 4

Sado groaned. He had to learn to stop betting. Ur's bet hadn't been won or lost yet, but he had made the mistake of betting Cana she couldn't outdrink Bacchus if both started sober. Cana, not taking being second to anyone lightly, accepted. She had lasted half a shot more than him, but still enough to win. Barely. So, now that that had been decided, Sado had to play the game that day. And what a horrible choice that was. It was called Naval Battle, already a horrible sign, because the contestants would be inside of a massive sphere of water trying to knock everyone else out of it. They'd be able to breathe and speak, but his magic would be next to useless unless he wanted to risk severely hurting someone. Worse yet, his opponents were Risley Law, Shelia, Jenny Realight, Minerva, and Juvia. Then, on the completely useless side, there was Rocker from Cuatro Puppy.

"I hate my life," Sado said, jumping off of the statue and into the water sphere, making sure he was close enough to cling to Juvia the entire time.

The gong sounded and Sado blasted as much fire as he could muster out of his feet, barely making it to Juvia and grabbing her shoulders, Juvia spinning and trying to knock him off instantly.

"Don't hit me!" Sado said. "Hit them!"

Juvia looked back at the others as Jenny shot toward them, meaning to kick them. "Water Cyclone!"

Juvia shouted, a massive tornado of water stirring up the sphere, launching Rocker out instantly, but failing to lose anyone else. Then, suddenly, Juvia was gone and Sado groaned. She reformed behind him, kicking him and sending him streaking at the edge. He blasted flames out of his feet, the flames coming out as a stream of bubbles, and barely managed to stop himself. Then, he turned, swinging his arms and just barely escaping a ball of water from Juvia. Suddenly, Shelia appeared in front of him, her magic forming small spirals of water that dragged her along. She grinned and he groaned again.

"Having trouble?" Shelia asked, a blast of wind magic blocking one of Juvia's attacks without Shelia looking.

"My fire's useless in here without making the sphere boil and killing all of you," Sado said.

"I see," Shelia nodded. "That's too bad. Goodbye."

Then, just as she began to swing her arms, Jenny kicked Shelia in the face, launching her away from Sado.

"That's the only time I'm helping you," Jenny said. "And only because I owed Mira a favor."

"Thank you so much," Sado said.

Then, he grabbed her arm, spinning and hurling her, catching her foot after she was moving and letting her momentum drag him out of the way of Juvia's attack.

"There," Sado said, we're even.

Jenny rolled her eyes as a massive whip made of water suddenly wrapped around Sado.

"Oh shit!" Sado said, being yanked backward, still holding Jenny's foot. "Sorry!"

He let go and Jenny was thrown out of the water ball. Then, the whip vanished and Sado flipped, holding his arms and legs out, bubbles blasting out of them, then being replaced by fire as his hands and feet left the water, only to be pushed back in.

"That doesn't count as me being disqualified, right?" Sado asked.

"No, you're good!" The pumpkin shouted.

"Perfect," Sado smiled, sticking his feet out. He formed a fire platform, standing on it before leaping off, using a burst of flames to launch him through the water, his shoulder crashing into Risley from behind, sending her shooting out of the water. Then, he spun as Juvia swung her hand downward from above her, a massive typhoon of water mixed with glowing pink hearts filling the water sphere, sending both him and Shelia flying out of the water sphere, him hitting a second before Shelia.

"Ow," Sado groaned, lying on his back and watching the sphere. "That went pretty well."

All that left was Minerva and Juvia. Suddenly, explosions of pure heat began to go off around Juvia, who screamed in agony. Minerva was grinning wickedly, but as the explosions continued, Juvia began to fire back. Except, all of her attacks were diverted harmlessly away from Minerva by her magic. The timer ticked down. Juvia formed a tornado out of her lower body, streaking around and around through the water, struggling to avoid the explosions, still firing at Minerva. Minerva was simply grinning the entire time. Finally, the timer hit zero just as Juvia was hit in the chest, being launched backward. Juvia barely caught herself and growled in rage, water spiraling around her hands.

"I cannot lose this fight," Juvia said. "I will not let Gray down! I will help the others make our guild the strongest again!"

Sado saw the rage fill Minerva's face. Minerva swiped her hand and over a dozen explosions went off around Juvia's entire body all at once. Then, Juvia appeared beside Minerva thanks to Minerva's magic, Minerva beginning to brutally beat Juvia. Juvia managed to swing back once and only oncer, Minerva breaking her arm at the elbow, then again at the middle of the forearm for it. Then, the beating continued. Sado felt his pockets, but he was out of healing lacrima. Still Minerva beat Juvia. Blood was beginning to mix with the water, and yet Minerva continued.

"That's enough!" Sado shouted. "Stop the match, now!"

The pumpkin seemed to agree, because he called it instantly. Minerva smirked, grabbing Juvia by the throat and hurling her out through the top of the water sphere, two hundred feet in the air. Sado exploded off the ground, his wings forming, and shot skyward, catching Juvia as she fell before flipping and flying back to the ground. Gray, Wendy, and Shelia met him there, Sado letting his wings fade as Wendy and Shelia went to work trying to stabilize Juvia, who was clearly in danger of dying. Her face had been beaten in by Minerva's punches, her ribs were shattered, and her arm was mangled. Sado gripped it, wincing in sympathy, and yanked it, resetting the two breaks, worrying even more about his friend when there was no visible reaction. Sado, Natsu, Erza, and Mira all turned to Minerva as she landed, only for the rest of Sabertooth to appear, stepping in front of her.

"Bring anyone you want," Sado snarled, his flames exploding out of his hands and reaching the water sphere, making the entire thing evaporate in seconds. "I'll tear you _all_ apart for this."

"What is going on down there?" the announcer asked. "Both teams are on the ground and ready to rumble!"

The spectators began to cheer, chanting for the guilds to fight. Sado was more than happy to oblige, even if he _would_ have to reveal his true nature to win, particularly against Minerva. However, before anyone could do anything, ice shot up between them, forming a very thick wall that, given the owner, Sado knew wold take even him a minute to get through. They all turned, seeing Ur standing on the ground, murder in her eyes.

"Listen carefully," Ur said. "Sabertooth may be regarded as the strongest guild, but if you ever pull a stunt like this again, we'll kill you all. Sado alone could take all of you, except maybe the bitch. Either way, for the sake of not hurting any of the spectators, we're not going to fight right now. But heed my warning. If you ever do this again, nothing, and I mean nothing, will hold Fairy Tail back from utterly obliterating Sabertooth. You may be known as the strongest, but I promise you, going to war with Fairy Tail will end in your destruction. Do I make myself clear?"

"Completely," Minerva said. "Don't worry, this won't happen again. Next time, I'll just kill them."

She turned, beginning to walk away, the rest of Sabertooth following. Sado glanced at Ur, who was watching him now, and took a deep breath, forcing his rage under control. Ur let her ice wall shatter and fade into oblivion just as Shelia and Wendy sat back.

"She's going to be okay," Shelia announced.

The others turned back to Juvia and Sado carefully lifted her, carrying her to the infirmary. As he set her in bed, Fairy Tail B joined them in the infirmary, along with Makarov and Mavis. Juvia stirred, looking around at them all.

"I'm sorry," Juvia said. "I lost."

"Don't worry," Sado said. "We'll pay her back with interest."

Juvia nodded, eyes fluttering closed again.

"Now that we know she's okay, there's news," Makarov said. "We've been asked to consolidate our teams into one."

"Say what?" Natsu said.

"So we've gotta be like everyone else now?" Laxus asked.

"Why are they doing that?" Mira asked.

"Since Raven Tail has been disqualified, there are now seven teams remaining," Makarov said. "Having an odd number makes it difficult to match up competitors for the battles. Therefor, we've been ordered to do away with the A and B groups and form a single five-person team for the rest of the tournament."

"So we're losing five members," Erza said.

"But how will this effect our scores?" Carla asked.

"We're only allowed to keep the lower one," Makarov said. "And that would be the forty one points from team A."

"That's bullshit!" Natsu said.

"It's not that bad," Sado said. "We're only three points below Sabertooth with this. Going by the way the battles have been going, If we put both Natsu and Gajeel on the team, they'll fight Sting and Rogue in the battles. The organizers won't be able to resist that since it's a tag-team battle. So long as you guys win, we'll be up by seven. Then, as long as we finish tomorrow's event in at least third, we'll win."

The others all looked around before nodding.

"Okay," Natsu said. "So we have me and Gajeel, who else will be in the team?"

"Myself, Laxus, and Mira," Sado said.

"No, I'm going to stick to cheering for you," Mira said. "But I'll be a reserve member in case anyone gets hurt during today's battle."

"Then Erza will be in the team," Sado said. "Any objections?"

"I was kind of hoping that I could be there to take down Rufus," Gray said. "But I'll let you handle it."

Sado nodded, looking around at the others. "Alright. Let's go and introduce our new team, shall we?"

Everyone nodded and they walked out to the entrance to the arena, stopping as the announcer announced the battle match-ups. First was Blue Pegasus against Cuatro Puppy. Second was Mermaid Heel against Lamia Scale. Finally, there was Sabertooth against Fairy Tail.

"Laxus," Sado said. "Since I have no doubt you'll end up fighting Olga, be forewarned. He's a Lightning God Slayer. You can't eat his lightning."

"I know," Laxus said. "But thanks for the heads up."

They were called into the ring, walking out together, deafening cheers erupting through the stands as they stepped out into the light. Sabertooth was almost unanimously, Rogue being the only exception, grinning at them as they stood there, glaring at their targets. Then, finally, they were called to clear out of the arena for the first fight.

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	71. Chapter 71

I do not own any of the original Fairy Tail characters.

* * *

Dragon Slayers

The first battle had been...a unique one, to say the least. Ichiya and the Blue Pegasus member in the rabbit costume had to fight Bacchus and Rocker. Before the fight began, the rabbit was revealed to be Nichiya, an Exeed that looked exactly like Ichiya. Once that was revealed, the fight began with Bacchus knocking Nichiya out in one hit. Then, he and Rocker spent a few minutes beating Ichiya around the arena. Finally, Ichiya had had enough and grew into his massive, muscle-bound form. Once he had, he took both down in one hit. Of course, probably the only thing funnier than the thought of all the gloating they'd be suffering, was the fact that Erza had fainted when she saw that there were two Ichiyas.

The second battle was much, much more entertaining. Lyon and Yuka fighting Kagura and Millianna. Except, Kagura let Millianna fight alone at first. And Millianna did _not_ disappoint. She was quick and hard to pin down, allowing her to outmaneuver both Lyon and Yuka for a long while, eventually catching them with her restraining spell. Except, before his magic was fully blocked, Lyon formed an ice mouse that Millianna began to chase around. Then, she snapped out of it only for Lyon to cause a blizzard, forcing Millianna, who, as with any cat, hated being out in the cold, hid under the table with a heater Lyon had set up. Then, she recovered from that as well, getting angry with him for making a fool of her. Then, since the clock had been wound down a lot, Lyon formed an ice tiger, who chased Millianna until she slammed into a wall from not paying attention, knocking herself out. Finally, Kagura stepped up. Yuka started things off, firing several Wave blasts at her, only for her to dodge the first, then split the second with her sheathed sword. Then, she darted forward, slashing and dodging rapidly, Yuka barely staying ahead of her. Then, finally, she got behind him and slashed, dropping him.

She stood up straight, turning to Lyon, who was watching her carefully. After a few words about whether or not Lyon had held back against Millianna, Lyon launched a swarm of ice dragonflies at Kagura, which she sped through without a single one touching her. Then, just as he formed an ice eagle, Kagura slashed it, and Lyon, launching him away. Gray instantly began to shout at Lyon for being weak, Sado seeing Ur grinning widely in the stands. Then, Lyon formed a tiger with one hand and an ape with the other. Then, he placed his fist against his hand backward, forming a dragon behind himself. Sado looked down at his hands, placing his hands as Lyon had and raising an eyebrow. Earlier, he had noticed Lyon placing his knuckles against his other hand, rather than the side with his thumb and index finger. He looked to Ur and she merely winked at him. He looked back at Lyon as he sent all three at Kagura, Kagura leaping over the tiger and ape, then being knocked back by the dragon. She landed lightly, standing. Then, she reversed gravity, lifting the three ice creations, and Lyon himself, into the air above the arena.

As they reached the spell seal above them, they stopped and Kagura leapt off the ground, splitting the three ice creatures in half, destroying them. Then, she fell back at Lyon, stopping as the bell sounded, her sword resting against his face, but not knocking him out. the pumpkin announced it as a draw and Kagura let them both drop to the ground, both turning and walking back into their doorways as the announcer talked about the match. Finally, it was time. Natsu and Gajeel against Sting and Rogue, just as Sado predicted. Sado glanced at Natsu and Gajeel, seeing Lucy giving Natsu a kiss for luck. Beside them, Gajeel was standing with his arms crossed.

"Can we go now?" Gajeel asked, Lucy stepping back and smiling.

"Good luck," Lucy said, turning and heading back to the seats.

Gajeel grunted and turned, walking out into the arena with Natsu. The match began as soon as the pumpkin was done speaking. Sting and Rogue both took a single step forward only for Natsu and Gajeel to appear in front of them, punching them and sending them flying. Natsu landed first, leaping to Sting and kicking him, sending him skidding backward across the ground. Sting grinned, firing a White Dragon Roar, Natsu stepping out of the way and letting it pass. Then, Sting leaned, shifting his feet, and the spell curved, flying at Gajeel. Gajeel avoided it and Rogue leapt at Gajeel, using a Shadow Dragon Slash, only for Gajeel to block it with his Iron Dragon Sword. Then, he hurled Rogue backward, Rogue crashing to the ground only for Natsu to grab him by the face, leaping at Sting and slamming Rogue into him, head-first. Then, he hit both at point blank range with a Fire Dragon Wing attack.

"You guys are tough," Sting said as he and Rogue stood. "Makes it more interesting."

"Gajeel," Rogue growled.

"Tell me something," Natsu said. "Did you guys seriously defeat your dragons with that measly power of yours?"

"We didn't just defeat them, we killed our dragons with our own hands," Sting said.

"But did you consider them your family too?" Natsu asked.

"That's none of your business," Sting said. "But if you wanna see our Dragon Slaying power, we'll happily show it to ya. White Drive."

Pure white magical energy began to radiate from him, darkness flowing from Rogue.

"Shadow Drive," Rogue growled.

Sting moved first, reaching Natsu and throwing a punch before Natsu could react. Natsu flipped, landing on his feet and Sting began to slam punches into him rapidly. Then, finally, he kicked him, throwing him back. At the same time, Rogue reached Gajeel, Gajeel starting to try to hit him, only to find that he was swinging at nothing but shadow imitations. Rogue striking Gajeel any time he saw an opening. Finally, the two were slammed into each other and Sting and Rogue stopped, Natsu and Gajeel grinning.

"Alright," Natsu said, cracking his knuckles. "For a minute there, I was afraid I did all that training with Sado for nothing."

"What was that?" Sting asked as flames exploded to life along Natsu's arms.

"I said, you can't touch me anymore," Natsu grinned.

Sting grit his teeth, streaking forward, only for Sado to duck, flames exploding out of his back as he drilled his fist into Sting's nose, launching him away.

"Sting!" Rogue shouted, Gajeel appearing in front of him, smashing a Iron Dragon Club into his face and sending him flying back as well.

Natsu grinned, forming a fireball and hurling it at Sting. Sting and Rogue both leapt out of the way, flipping and sprinting at Natsu together. Natsu grinned, ducking under their fists and sending flames shooting out of his elbows, blasting into their chins and launching them into the air. As they flipped, he slammed a Fire Dragon Wing Attack into them, blasting them back into the ground where Gajeel blasted them with a Iron Dragon Roar. They crashed into the wall of the arena and stood, dusting themselves off.

"This is starting to piss me off," Sting said.

"Agreed," Rogue nodded.

"Think I'll try that one next," Sting said.

Rogue nodded.

Then, they were off yet again. Natsu leaned out of the way of Sting's first strike, Rogue having gone after Gajeel, and Sting's leg flashed up, slamming a kick into Natsu's head. Natsu grunted before Sting slammed a palm strike into Natsu's gut, throwing him backward. Natsu landed on his feet, skidding to a stop before stopping. He looked down, seeing light shining from a hole in his shirt.

"Hey, what'd you do to me?" Natsu asked.

"My White Dragon Talon is infused with Holy Magic," Sting said. "Anyone branded with its stigmata is paralyzed." He focused his magic to his fists. "Now the real fun begins. You're my new punching bag!"

"Oh crap!" Natsu growled.

He glanced at Rogue and Gajeel just as Gajeel caught Rogue's hand as Rogue moved to hit him. He grinned. Then, just as Rogue punched at him, Natsu ducked under it, flames forming a fist around his own as more erupted from his elbow, slamming the punch into Sting's face where it exploded, blasting him backward. Sting dug a trench along the ground, before blasting into the arena wall. Gajeel yanked Rogue's arm, slamming his elbow into his face before kicking him, sending him blasting into the wall beside Rogue. Both leapt away from the wall only for Natsu and Gajeel to meet them, putting them right back. Then, they both grabbed one by the foot, swinging them around and back into each other before jumping, flipping and hurling the two toward the center of the arena. Both flipped, landing on their feet before Gajeel smashed an Iron Dragon Club into Rogue, launching him backward and chasing him. Sting turned to Natsu, focusing his Magic Energy, blinding everyone except Natsu with its concentration.

"You guys are pretty tough, no shock there," Sting said. "We'll have to give you everything we've got. When we go all out, there's no way fire and steel could stop us."

"Bring it," Natsu grinned, lighting his hands on fire.

"Here it comes, Natsu," Sting grinned. "Dragon Slayer Secret Art, Holy Nova!"

He shot through the air at Natsu. He threw a punch and Natsu raised his own, catching Sting's, a massive explosion of Magical Energy flying off the impact, filling the arena before kicking up a cloud of dust. After several seconds, Natsu spiked his Magical Energy, clearing the dust. Sting stared at him in complete shock and disbelief.

"Is that it?" Natsu asked. "Fine then. My turn."

He stepped forward, slamming his fist into Sting's face, Sting staggering back but when he moved to step back with the other foot, he found it stuck under Natsu's. Natsu's hands both lit on fire as Sting's eyes widened.

"Let me show you the power of a real Dragon Slayer," Natsu growled. "Dragon Slayer Secret Art, Fire Dragon Fists!"

He began to pummel Sting, keeping him trapped in place with his foot, explosion after explosion shooting off of Sting with each punch. Gajeel watched grinning. He remembered that one. It hurt. Rogue appeared behind Gajeel, only for him to spin, smashing Rogue toward Sting at the same time as Natsu slammed the final punch into Sting, lifting his foot just before it. The explosion sent Sting blasting into Rogue, only for Natsu and Gajeel to appear beside them, kicking them and sending them blasting into the side of the arena. Both landed on the ground, grinning, and watched as Rogue and Sting struggled to stand. Finally, they both climbed to their feet, Sting seeming to barely be staying there.

"We're not finished yet," Rogue said.

"He's right," Sting said. "It's not like we expected this to be easy ya know."

Suddenly, magic energy began to explode off of both Dragon Slayers, white markings appearing over Sting's sides, shoulders, and the sides of his head like scales, similar black ones appearing on Rogue's.

"I made a promise to Lector, and I intend to keep it," Sting said, seeming to be back to full strength suddenly.

"Feel that?" Gajeel asked. "They're not playing around."

"No kidding," Natsu nodded. "That's Dragon Force."

"Hang back Rogue," Sting smirked, walking forward. "I got this. I can handle these chumps by myself."

"I think I'm insulted," Gajeel said.

"Don't underestimate him," Natsu said. "He's not kidding."

Then, Sting crashed into Natsu's gut, blasting him backward before ducking under a kick from Gajeel and blasting him with a ball of light, sending him flying. Natsu flipped, landing on his feet against the arena wall and used fire to fly back at Sting, Gajeel using a pair of Iron Dragon Clubs to do the same. Then, when they reached Sting, they began to strike at him rapidly, Sting blocking all of it. Finally, he kicked Gajeel away, then caught Natsu and hurled him into Gajeel as Gajeel was falling. Then, he jumped, getting above them as they crashed to the ground.

"White Dragon Holy Roar!" Sting shouted, blasting them both.

Natsu opened his eyes, finding that he and Gajeel were falling, the arena, and all of the floors under it, of which there seemed to be many, having collapsed. He flipped, seeing Sting flying down after them. He inhaled, exhaling several fireballs at Sting, only for Sting to easily go around them. As soon as he was going at Natsu again, Natsu exploded off of a chunk of rock, coating himself in flames and blasting headfirst into Sting's face, throwing him back. Gajeel appeared behind Sting, blasting him in the back with an Iron Dragon Roar, blasting him into the ground. As they continued to fall, Sting stood.

"The radiance of a White Dragon...purifies all," Sting said, focusing magic to his hands as he placed the palms together then separated them, white magic shining out of the space between them. "Holy Rain!"

a sphere of white magic appeared in front of him, as big around as he was tall. Then, hundreds of blasts of white magic shot out, blasting into Natsu and Gajeel. Natsu crashed down, bouncing before regaining his feet, Sting landing in front of him, leaping at him and throwing a punch. The punch sent Natsu flying, blasting him into the wall of the cavern they were in. Gajeel leapt at him from behind but he jumped, spinning and kicking him away. Then, Natsu was there, swinging a punch, a flaming fist around his arm, only for the fire to go out as Sting blocked the punch, Sting blasting Natsu with a punch of his own. Gajeel leapt at Sting, slashing with his Iron Dragon Sword, but Sting flipped over it, kicking Gajeel into Natsu. Then, as he landed, he fired a blast of white magic out of his mouth, blasting them both.

As the dust settled, Natsu struggled to make his body move. He could hear everyone else calling out to them, begging them to keep fighting. He sensed Sting deactivate his Dragon Force.

"Good fight," Sting said. "That's the toughest I've ever had. Thanks. I mean it."

"Sting," Rogue said, dropping down beside him.

"Yeah, I know," Sting said. "Gajeel wasn't mine to take out. Sorry. But I finally did it. I kept my word."

Finally, Natsu's body began to respond, allowing him to push himself up.

"Not so fast pal," Natsu said, Sting and Rogue both turning to him just as Gajeel stood as well. "Oh, my head."

"I'll be feeling that for a week," Gajeel grumbled.

"Not bad," Natsu said. "But now we've seen all your little quirks."

"What?" Sting gaped.

"No," Rogue said in disbelief.

"I know the timing of your attacks, the way you stand when you defend, even the rhythm of your breathing," Natsu grinned.

"What the hell?" Sting growled. "That's impossible! I used my Dragon Force! You shouldn't be standing!"

"Yeah you're definitely strong," Natsu nodded, cracking his back. "I feel like a train ran over me."

"Keep your composure," Rogue said. "He's just bluffing."

"Don't make me laugh," Gajeel chuckled. "Does Salamander look like the type of guy who's smart enough to bluff?"

"I'm smart!" Natsu argued. "Just watch! When you attack, you pivot your foot to around eleven o'clock."

"It's ten o'clock, dummy," Gajeel said.

"No, it's totally eleven," Natsu argued.

Both got in each other's face instantly.

"Are you blind!?" Gajeel demanded. "It was ten thirty at most! Were you even watching him?"

"I think you were hit too hard," Natsu growled.

Sting and Rogue watched the argument in confusion and shock. Especially once the two began to brawl over what position Sting turned his foot to to attack. Finally, Natsu pushed Gajeel into a mining cart, pushing the lever to set it into motion. The effect was instant as Gajeel became motion sick and was carried away, Natsu turning back, grinning widely.

"Hey, what did you do that for?" Sting asked.

"Betrayal?" Rogue asked.

"What, did you think I forgot about that little insult from before?" Natsu asked. "Hah!"

Natsu lit his finger tips on fire, spelling the words, "COME ON" in the flames.

"I can handle the two of you myself," Natsu grinned. "Come on! Give me all you got!"

Sting and Rogue just stared at him. Finally, both grit their teeth in irritation.

"You think you can take us on alone?" Sting growled. "That's a big mistake."

"I have no interest in fighting you," Rogue said. "My only target is Gajeel."

"You beat me and you can take on whoever you want," Natsu grinned.

"Did you forget we have control over Dragon Force!?" Sting shouted as both entered Dragon Force again. "There's nothing in the world stronger than a dragon! And both of us have that power!"

He charged, throwing a punch at Natsu, only for Natsu to catch it, holding it back.

"I don't think that you're all the way there yet pal," Natsu said.

"This is the power of a true Dragon Slayer!" Sting shouted. "I should know! It's how I killed Weisslogia!"

"Is that so?" Natsu asked. "Then I should use the same kind of power..." he began to launch flames from his body, the flames erupting into a trail, blown away from Sting by the magic fighting between their hands. "...that I use to fight for my friends you laughed at!" Then, Natsu stepped forward, smashing his flaming fist into Sting's face, sending him flying.

"Shadow Dragon Roar!" Rogue shouted, the blast flying at Natsu rapidly.

Natsu spun, launching his own breath attack back, the blasts meeting in the middle. Natsu's instantly blasted through Rogue's, exploding on impact with the Shadow Dragon Slayer. Just then, Sting leapt at Natsu.

"I'm not done with you!" Sting shouted.

"Frosch, don't worry," Rogue growled, standing. "I'm not giving up now!"

"Bring it on," Natsu grinned, the two charging at him from opposite sides.

Both threw a punch and he knocked them aside, beginning to pummel both of them, hurling them around the cavern with punches, kicks, and his flames. No matter what he hit them with, however, both kept going, continuing to struggle against Natsu. He hurled a fireball at them and they leapt through it, throwing punches at him. Natsu spun, kicking Rogue away before smashing Sting into the ground then punting him by the face. He grinned.

"It's amazing what training with Fairy Tail's Fire Devil and Laxus both for a month can do for a guy," Natsu grinned. "And I haven't even gotten to the _real_ training that Laxus put me through."

Sting fired a White Dragon Roar at Natsu, but Natsu flipped aside from the blast and launched a Fire Dragon Roar back, blasting Sting away. Rogue attacked Natsu again and he continued beating them around. Finally, they crashed down beside each other, both standing and forming massive spheres of their Magical Energy. Both spheres grew to roughly triple Sting and Rogue's height, Natsu grinning. The spheres continued to grow, then, finally, just as they began to tower over the three Dragon Slayers, they vanished, reappearing in miniature in each other's palms, bare inches from each other. Then, they combined into a single sphere, both Dragon Slayers shoving their fists toward Natsu to fire the attack.

"Holy Shadow Dragon's Flash Fang!" they shouted, the sphere exploded into a massive blast of light and shadow chasing each other endlessly.

Natsu grinned. He lit his hands on fire, twisting to his right. "Dragon Slayer Secret Art, Flame Lotus Exploding Flame Blade!"

He spun, swinging his hands and sending his flames shooting forward into the oncoming attack. A massive explosion went off almost instantly as the two attacks clashed. Then, the flames broke through Sting and Rogue's blast, exploding as it blasted them, the side of the mountain the coliseum sat on exploding outward from it. As the dust began to settle, Rogue staggered back a step, then fell forward, collapsing to the ground. Sting fell to his knees, then also fell forward, collapsing beside Rogue. Natsu sighed, brushing his hand through his hair to put his bangs back into place and grinned. He could hear the announcer shouting about how awesome he was and how great the fight was, then about an all-out brawl with the entire teams taking part. As he did, Natsu walked over to Sting and Rogue, kneeling.

"That was fun guys," Natsu grinned. "Let's do this again some time. I really wanna show you guys my full power next time."

Both stared at him like he had grown a second head. As they did, he lifted them onto his shoulders and walked to the stand below the center of the hole they had formed to get there.

"Going up!" Natsu said, flames exploding out of his feet, launching them up through the air to the top of the hole where Natsu flipped, landing beside the hole and setting the two of them down gently, Fairy Tail beginning to cheer deafeningly.

Sado smiled as he watched Natsu set the two Dragon Slayers down. Natsu hadn't even gotten the chance to try out his Lightning Fire Dragon Mode on them. Oh well. He had won, and he had enjoyed it.

"So, a full day of rest," Mira said. "What'll we do?"

"I dunno," Sado said. "Depends on how many brawls Fairy Tail starts."

He looked around at all of his guild mates. Yukino was smiling, but he couldn't tell if she was happy that Sting and Rogue had lost, or that they were alive. Sado sighed, standing as the stands began to clear. They were in first again. By a lot. And if they did what they did best in the final event, they would win for sure. After all, no guild fought like Fairy Tail.

* * *

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	72. Chapter 72

I do not own any of the original Fairy Tail characters.

* * *

Bad Ideas

Sado smiled as Natsu and Gray began to argue, Happy and Juvia cheering them on. Natsu had gotten rid of his one-sleeved jacket, which had been ruined, for his old vest. Gray was currently wearing jeans and had lost his shirt. Again.

"Cut it out you two!" Lucy shouted. "You destroyed the place once already! Isn't that enough for one week!?"

"Killjoy!" both said.

Sado chuckled as Mira spoke up from her spot on his lap.

"We have a day off so if they get hurt they'll have time to heal," Mira said. "I say let them have their fun."

"Uh, Mira, I think you might be missing the point a little," Lucy said.

Sado sighed, hugging Mira and kissing her on the cheek. She smiled, leaning her head against his. She had changed into a black dress with the top cut in a slim V halfway down her cleavage and with a single strap reaching up behind her neck to hold it up. And she had worn it specifically to taunt him, since sharing a bedroom with everyone else meant that he was only allowed to look. And she had been having the time of her life teasing him all week so far. Tonight more so than usual. Finally, Sado sighed again.

"Natsu, Gray, settle down," Sado said, both staring at him. "If you break much more than you did yesterday, we'll get kicked out, and then we won't be able to rest for the finals. You don't _want_ Sting and Rogue to beat you next time around, do you?"

"No," Natsu sighed.

"Then we need a place to stay for tonight and tomorrow," Sado said. "So it's time for you two to calm down. Make out with your girlfriends or something else that's at least a little bit normal."

Both sighed, climbing off of the table they had been fighting on.

"Thank you Sado," Lucy said. "Even if you did just try to use me as a scapegoat."

"Would you be mad if he had agreed?" Sado snorted.

Just then, the door opened and Gajeel walked in.

"If I never see another Mine Cart it'll be too soon," Gajeel snarled.

"Hey Gajeel!" Natsu shouted. "Why'd you skip out in the middle of our fight?"

"Natsu," Sado groaned. "You put him in a mine cart and sent him rolling down a tunnel so you could fight Sting and Rogue alone, and also because he called you stupid."

"Is that true Gray?" Natsu asked.

"You know, sometimes I worry about your lack of brain cell," Gray said.

"That's not important right now," Gajeel said looking between Natsu and Wendy. "You two come with me. I need to show you something."

They both nodded and the three of them walked out, followed by their Exeeds, Gray, Lucy, Mira, and Sado. Gajeel led them to the coliseum, then down to where Natsu had beaten Sting and Rogue. Then, they followed the tunnel Gajeel had taken on his mine cart before coming to a stop at the mouth of a mass grave. Scattered before them were dozens of dragon skeletons, fossilized and partially buried, but dragon nonetheless.

"Those are all dragon remains," Natsu breathed.

"They're all ancient," Mira said as they walked through the graveyard.

"Over four hundred years," Sado said. "This was a battle."

"A battle?" Lucy asked.

"Well...a slaughter would be more accurate," Sado said. "The Dragon King Festival."

"Is that some kind of party?" Natsu asked.

"It was a war," Sado said. "Misleading name, I know. It was a war between dragons who wanted to coexist with humans, and dragons who wanted humans to be nothing more than cattle. Except, then this happened."

"What was this?" Gray asked.

"Acnologia," Sado growled. "He slaughtered all of the dragons, on both sides. He's the only one who won the war."

"You know, I sometimes forget how old you actually are," Lucy said. "So, you were here?"

"No," Sado said. "I was still young then, only around fifty or so."

"That young, huh?" Lucy asked.

"For a devil, that's basically an infant," Sado said. "I didn't even know how to control my powers then. But I could sense what was happening. I could sense him slaughtering the dragons."

"I wish we could talk to a dragon," Lucy said. "We could find out what happened here first hand."

"Maybe we could!" Wendy gasped. "The Milky Way spell! It's one of the spells Grandeeney had passed down to me. I thought maybe is was an attack, but what if it lets us hear the voices of the dragons that have passed on?"

"Worth a shot," Sado nodded. "At worst you'll break a skeleton."

"At worst she revives a dragon," Gray said.

"No spell can revive the dead," Sado said.

Wendy drew a magic circle on the spell, then had everyone step back. Then, she began her spell. A column of green magical energy appeared around her, forming a sort of portal above her. Then, after several seconds, she announced that she found one. A moment later, a transparent green humanoid-looking dragon appeared out of it, roaring. Natsu, Gajeel, Lucy, and Gray screamed.

"Even in death scaring the pants off humans is hilarious," the dragon laughed. "My name is Zirconis. They called me the Jade Dragon back in my day. I'm impressed you were able to conjure my spirit. Seems like the handy work of the Sky Dragon, Grandeeney. Which one of you was it?" He looked around before seeing Wendy. "Oh, how adorable. So it was this tiny Dragon Slayer who woke me, eh?"

"Hey back off creep!" Natsu shouted. "Don't touch her!"

"Then I'll eat her!" Zirconis said. "And she's just the apatizer!"

"No way!" Natsu shouted.

"Jeez, lighten up dummy," Zirconis said, poking his finger through Natsu harmlessly. "It'd be pretty hard to eat her when I can't touch her."

"Can you tell us what happened here?" Carla asked.

"Our friend gave us the short version, but we wanted to hear it from you," Happy said, gesturing at Sado.

Zirconis looked over at him and hummed thoughtfully. "Well well, the little baby Fire Devil has grown up, I see."

"Hello Zirconis," Sado sighed. "Before you guys ask, I met him a couple years before this. He was having lunch and I was passing by, so he let me use his lunch as target practice."

"Wait, didn't Dragons eat humans?" Gray asked. "You used people for target practice? That's terrible! What the hell man!?"

"Back then I was a full-blooded devil," Sado said. "I didn't care about anything but me. And I hated humans. I didn't gain emotions until I lost my memory."

"I thought you looked a little different," Zirconis said. "So you're half human now?"

"More or less," Sado shrugged. "Anyway, about that history lesson."

"Oh, right," Zirconis said, sitting down.

He began his story by explaining what Sado had. That dragons ruled everything, that one thought they should coexist, and that there was a war. The others were a little less endeared toward him when he mentioned that he fought against the dragons that wanted to coexist. Then, he explained that the dragons supporting coexistence created the first Dragon Slayers to help them fight the rest of the dragons. Then, he explained the fate of the Dragon Slayers. They became drunk on their power, and turned on the dragons that gave them their strength. Then, he reached Acnologia, though he wouldn't name him. He explained that Acnologia slayed countless dragons, on both sides, and soaked in their blood. Then, he explained that Acnologia's power eventually turned him into a dragon, as was the inevitable fate of all Dragon Slayers. He explained that Acnologia became the Dragon King, and the war was the Dragon King Festival. Then, he identified Acnologia by name, confirming the others suspicions, all of which were based on Sado blaming Acnologia for the skeletons before. Then, Zirconis faded, Wendy standing.

"What gives?" Gray asked.

"I'm sorry," Wendy said. "Any residual thought energy he had is gone now. But wherever he is, I'm sure he's getting some long needed peace."

"Yeah," Sado said. "I'm sure he's gorging himself on humans in Dragon Heaven. We should go. I'm sure we drew attention to ourselves with that spell."

"I just have one question," Natsu said. "Does this mean we're gonna turn into dragons too?"

"How should I know?" Gajeel demanded.

"But I don't wanna!" Wendy wailed.

"That's not very likely," a voice said from above them, all of them looking up to see a soldier with fancier-than-normal armor, a dark cape, dark bushy and messy hair, and a prominent nose standing on a cliff above them. "I took the liberty of eavesdropping. It looks like our research is in line with historical fact after all. Tell me, have you heard of the demons of the Book of Zeref?"

"What do those monsters have to do with anything?" Sado demanded.

"Acnologia is similar to them, for it was Zeref himself that turned the Dragon Slayer into that creature of death," the man said. "That means, if you wish to conquer the Black Dragon, you must first find a way to subdue the Black Wizard Zeref."

Just then, someone stepped up beside him, Sado staring at her. Yukino, wearing a soldier's uniform.

"Yukino?" Sado blinked. "What are you...doing up there? What are you wearing?"

Yukino remained silent as the man dropped off of the cliff, landing heavily, Yukino landing lightly beside him. He straightened up, watching them.

"I am Colonel Arcadios of the Sacred Cherry Blossom Knights, the Crocus Garrison Force of the Fiore Army," the man introduced himself.

"Yukino, answer me," Sado said, ignoring Arcadios entirely. "What's going on?"

Yukino stared at the ground for a moment before looking up at them. "The day after I joined Fairy Tail, Colonel Arcadios made me an offer. He required my help. And in exchange, we can defeat Zeref. Because of Zeref, my sister was taken from me. If he had never risen to power, my sister and I would have never been separated."

"But I told you where she was," Sado said.

"Indeed," Yukino said. "Being held by the Magic Counsel as a terrorist. If it weren't for Zeref, she would have never become a terrorist."

"How would you defeat Zeref?" Gray asked.

"Please allow me to explain," Arcadios said. "For the past several years, I have been working on a highly classified project. But it requires the power only a Celestial Wizard can provide. Luckily, Sergeant Yukino has agreed to lend her assistance in this undertaking."

"Enough of this formal, 'it's classified' bullshit," Sado sighed. "Look, we don't have any form of patience for this bullshit. Tell us what the hell you're up to and why you needed a Celestial Wizard. The fact that you're here means you obviously need something from us, my guess is Lucy."

"Very well," Arcadios nodded. "Follow me please."

He turned, walking away and the others followed. After a few minutes, they left a tunnel in the inner gardens of Mercurius, the King's palace. As he led them inside, he continued to speak.

"The Grand Magic Games is just a ruse, or a ploy to syphon Magic Energy from the participants, rather," Arcadios said.

"You've been stealing people's magic for years?" Natsu said.

"That's horrible!" Gray said.

"That's messed up!" Gajeel said.

"To power what?" Sado asked.

"I thought you would be the most attentive, and I was not wrong," Arcadios said as they stepped into a room with a massive intricate door set into one wall. "This is what we were powering."

"What's that?" Wendy asked, staring up at it.

It was made out of some kind of metal, and mostly green. In the center was a golden sun with thirteen golden lines reaching off of it in a circle, a small opening between each, twelve openings in total. Below the sun was a section of the door that was decorated by blue and yellow vertical stripes. Around the door, lined up with each of the openings, were twelve massive piston locks.

"Twelve keyholes?" Sado blinked. "The Zodiac Keys. You need all twelve. That's why you brought us here."

"That is correct," Arcadios said. "This is Eclipse. The door that will change the world."

"It's a door?" Lucy asked.

"Too where?" Natsu asked.

"When the sun and moon intersect, we will then use the zodiac keys to open this door," Arcadios said. "What lies beyond it is time itself. It will allow us to travel four hundred years into the past and slay Zeref before he gains immortality. His destruction is our ultimate goal."

"You really believe that, don't you?" Sado asked.

"What do you mean?" Arcadios asked.

"Have you ever heard of the Butterfly Effect?" Sado asked.

"No," Arcadios said.

"It's a theory about time travel," Sado said. "Everything you touch, every change you make, sends out a ripple. As with a lake, the further ripples go, the larger they get. If you step here, somebody dies there. If you sneeze then, a couple that were never supposed to meet get married there. The changes are impossible to predict. There are simply too many variables for it. however, one thing remains true. The bigger the rock you throw, meaning the bigger the change you make, the larger the ripples. In this case, you would kill a man who, like it or not, is a massive part of our culture, and our past. A lot of the laws of Magic came from fear of being like him. Each of us, at one point or another, has dealt with something from the Book of Zeref. Without that, we never would have met Gray, Ur wouldn't be a part of our guild now, and we would have never met Yukino, because the Grand Magic Games wouldn't exist. Hell, Yukino might be dead. Or Lucy. Or Natsu. I might have burned the entire world to a cinder. We don't know. We _can't_ know. This plan, the Eclipse, it's a horrible idea that will only succeed in destroying everything."

"The sun and moon intersect in three days, on July seventh," Arcadios said. "We ask for your help to stop Zeref and Acnologia in one fell swoop."

"July seventh?" Natsu asked.

"That's the day all of our dragons disappeared," Wendy said.

"Pretty major coincidence," Gajeel said.

"How do you even know this would stop Acnologia?" Sado asked. "Zeref could be acting as a deterrent to Acnologia. And as for Acnologia turning into a dragon, that's bullshit because Acnologia was a Dragon Slayer, which means that his transformation was inevitable."

"You are correct," a deep voice said as soldiers swarmed into the room, surrounding them all. "There are too many variables for this project to be allowed to fruition."

"Royal soldiers!?" Wendy gasped.

"We're doing nothing wrong!" Carla shouted.

"Is there a problem?" Natsu asked.

"What's going on?" Lucy asked.

"Did you come here looking for a fight?" Gray asked.

"It would be wise of you to surrender quietly before things get messy, Colonel Arcadios," the voice said again, coming from the back of the ranks of soldiers.

"Defense Minister Darton!" Arcadios shouted. "What is the meaning of this!?"

"It is you who should be answering that question," Darton said. "You are aware that revealing State secrets to outsiders is treason."

"You're making a mistake," Arcadios said. "These people are not outsiders, they are an essential component to the Eclipse Project."

"You do not have the authority to make such reckless decisions on your own, Colonel," Darton said.

"I won't allow your opposition to jeopardize the safety of the kingdom!" Arcadios shouted. "Call off your men and end this ridiculous farce immediately!"

"You are way out of line here!" Darton shouted. "This plan of yours will alter history! Don't you realize you're putting our entire civilization at risk? Now stand down!"

"Thank you," Sado groaned. "Finally some sense."

"What in the heck are they talking about?" Natsu asked.

"Sounds like not everyone's on board with this plan," Lucy said.

"I'll say," Gray said.

"They're gonna change history?" Wendy asked.

"Like I said, Zeref is the basis for almost all Magical Law," Sado said. "Take him away, and there's no telling what we'll have."

"Colonel Arcadios, you are under arrest for treason against the kingdom of Fiore," Darton said. "Take the Celestial Wizards into custody as well! They are accessories to this crime! Remove the others at once!"

"Say what?" Gray gaped.

"I haven't committed any crimes!" Lucy said.

"I'm warning you, if you want her you'll have to go through me!" Natsu said, lighting his hand on fire.

"No, stop!" Arcadios shouted. "You can't use magic here!"

Suddenly, the sun in the center of the door shone, Natsu's magic being sucked out of him in mere seconds.

"Natsu!" Lucy shouted, only to be grabbed by two soldiers.

"Oh, did the Colonel not inform you?" Darton asked. "The games are just a way to steal magic power to feed the Eclipse. It is an extremely effective tool. In fact, if a wizard were to activate a spell this close to the device, the Eclipse would completely drain all of their magic power."

Natsu collapsed as the gate finished absorbing him.

"How convenient," Sado said. "Here, let me bring these wizards I'm asking for help to a place where they can't defend themselves if I choose to threaten them, right Arcadios?" He knelt, picking Natsu up over his shoulder. "We'll leave."

"What?" Mira gasped.

"It's better that we don't _all_ get arrested," Sado said. "Someone has to tell Makarov. Darton, if you hurt our friends, you'll be declaring war on us, you understand that, right?"

"I understand," Darton said. "The king is very fond of Fairy Tail. If you claim victory, I will grant you a private audience with him. The King is a kindhearted man. Who knows? He may be persuaded to...pardon your comrade."

Sado nodded and turned, walking out of the palace, the others who weren't under arrest following. As soon as they reached the bar, Sado tied Natsu to a pole while Mira and Gray filled Makarov in on Lucy and Yukino's situation.

"We can't afford to take reckless action against the kingdom, and they certainly wouldn't want word to spread that they mistreat innocent civilians," Makarov mused after they had finished telling him what happened. "But I suppose we should consider her a hostage until this Eclipse Project of theirs is called off."

"One thing I don't understand," Gajeel said. "If all of us know about this big secret they're trying to hide, why'd they let us walk away free?"

"Because we need to be there for the final match," Sado said. "How would it look if three fifths of the team just didn't show up?"

"Suspicious," Erza said.

Just then, Natsu broke free.

"Hey! We all need to stop flapping our gums and do someth-"

Makarov's expanded fist crashed down on him. "Simmer down! A member of our family has been taken against her will. Believe me, we all want justice right now. That being said, we can't just charge headlong into conflict like we usually do. It's too risky. However, we are not cowards and we will not let them get away with this! We are Fairy Tail!"

"A rescue team, then," Sado said. "Natsu, Ur, Wendy, Gray, and the three Exeeds. Mira can take Natsu's place in the games so that we still have five. That way, the rescue team has enough firepower to blast through any obstacles that get in their way, and we can blast our way through the final round of the games."

"That's two days away!" Natsu said.

"I know," Sado said. "But if we do it during anything other than a massive, destructive, loud, all-out battle between six guilds, you'd all be detected instantly. This way, you have a fighting chance."

"Sado's right," Makarov nodded. "Rest up, all of you. You're all going to need it."

They all nodded and left for their beds, Sado making sure to have Freed place an enchantment to keep Natsu from going to the palace or the tunnels under the coliseum.

* * *

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	73. Chapter 73

I do not own any of the original Fairy Tail characters.

* * *

Grand Magic Game

Sado opened his eyes and sighed, curling tighter into a ball, squeezing Mira gently as he did. Mira giggled, pressing back against him and sighing contentedly.

"I don't want to get up," Sado said. "Can we just leave the calendar the way it is and pretend it's still yesterday? I miss yesterday."

"That's because all we did yesterday was eat, sleep, and have sex," Mira smiled, shifting her bare hips against his member to accent the last word, Sado's member instantly standing obediently at attention.

"I know," Sado groaned, pulling her against him and silently praying that she would agree. "It was perfect."

Mira laughed, rolling over and pushing him onto his back, sitting on his lower legs and bending forward, kissing him as she began to run her already slick lips over the bottom of his shaft, pressing his member flat against himself.

"I agree," Mira said, breaking the kiss and allowing him to attach his lips to her neck as she so loved having him do. "It was absolutely perfect. But now we have to go."

And just like that, it was over and Mira was standing beside the bed, getting dressed. Sado stared at her scornfully.

"That's just cruel," Sado said.

"If we win, we can take three days off," Mira said, winking.

"Only three?" Sado groaned. "I get longer than that for getting hurt."

Mira smiled, shaking her head and walking over, pulling him into a sitting position, kissing him. "Fine. Two weeks. But that's it. And don't forget the bet with Ur."

"I won't," Sado sighed. "I really hope she hasn't won yet."

"So do I," Mira smirked. "Now come on. Get dressed and let's go."

Sado sighed, nodding and getting dressed.

* * *

"This is what we've all been waiting for folks!" the announcer shouted.

"I get Minerva," Sado growled, Mira, Erza, Gajeel, and Laxus all nodding silently.

"Don't kill her," Erza said.

"Have some faith," Sado said. "She might kill me."

Finally, the teams were welcomed one at a time, the crowd cheering louder for each than the last, only to go dead silent when the announcer pointed out that Natsu, "the man who single-handedly defeated both of Sabertooth's dragon slayers," had been replaced, before continuing on to sing praises of Mira's power and beauty.

"He doesn't really know what he's saying, does he?" Sado asked.

"Are you just now figuring that out?" Mira smiled. "Do you think they've begun yet?"

"No," Sado said. "Not until the game begins."

"This is it folks," the announcer said. "The last round of the games will feature, a full team survival game!"

"Oh thank fucking god!" Sado smiled. "Finally a chance to really let loose and get some payback."

The others nodded.

"Strap in pumpkins, because there's a special arena for our final fight!" the mascot, who was the guest speaker today, said. "It's the entire city of Crocus itself!"

Sado sighed. He really didn't want to have to rebuild the capital city. However, the announcer told them that they were allowed to do whatever was necessary to win, so the members of Team Fairy Tail grinned knowingly, one and all. Then, they were given the order to spread through the city, all of them heading as far from the castle as they could to draw everyone's attention away from it, and to avoid making the beautiful castle grounds a battlefield.

"The teams will run around fighting any member of an opposing guild they come across," the announcer said, his voice magically spread through the city. "Knocking out, or incapacitating, an opponent will land the victorious wizard's guild one point on the board."

"First," Yajima began. "Each team must select one member as its leader, but there's a catch to this rule."

"None of the opposing teams will know who the other teams' leaders are," the mascot said.

"Defeating a leader is worth five points, which means, it's technically possible for each team to win forty five points," the announcer said. "Which means that every team has a shot at winning the title."

"No they don't," Sado snorted.

"Should the teams work together, or should they split up to take the gold?" Yajima asked.

"Strategy will be a key factor this round," the mascot said.

"We have to win this, just in case the rescue attempt fails," Erza said.

"It won't," Sado said. "But we're still going to win. We'll split up. I'll take leader spot since I'm the hardest to keep down. If anyone finds Minerva, lead her to me."

"I'll handle Kagura," Erza said.

"I get Olga and Jura," Laxus said.

"I'll take whoever I find," Mira smiled.

"Since Salamander's not here, I'll take the dragon slayers," Gajeel said.

"Alright," Sado nodded. "Remember, as loud but least destructive as you can manage."

"Speak for yourself," Erza snorted.

"I am," Sado snorted. "I'm the most likely to destroy the entire city."

Suddenly, several fireworks exploded over the coliseum.

"Let's rumble!" the mascot cheered, Team Fairy Tail splitting up instantly.

As they ran, Sado looked up, seeing several golden energy blasts flying toward them. Rufus. He grinned. He and Laxus could take the hit easily. Erza, Mira, and Gajeel could dodge it. As the blast descended, Sado raised a hand, lighting it on fire. Then, as the blast hit his hand, the fire shot out, forming a cage around the blast, halting it but keeping it from exploding. As he lowered it to his side, Bacchus stepped out, swaying and with his empty gourd beside him.

"Hey, I know you," Bacchus said. "You're Mira's boyfriend. You're that guy that threatened to roast me. Well, I'm right here!"

"That you are," Sado nodded. "Catch."

He spun, hurling Rufus's spell at Bacchus, who bent backward and barely avoided the blast. As he was standing, Sado's fist crashed into his abdomen over his diaphragm, knocking him out cold and planting him into the ground. Then, Sado continued to run. As he ran, the announcer began to go on and on about Fairy Tail's amazing teamwork as Erza took down Jenny Realight and Gajeel and Mira took the Trimens out. Sado grinned. Taking the role of leader and who each chose to fight may have been a spur of the moment call on his part, as well as the others, but their overall strategy had come from Mavis. Before the match she had told them exactly what to do, where to go, and when to do it. As of yet, she hadn't been wrong once. She had even told Sado in private the matches she had set up for each. He got Minerva, Erza got Kagura, Laxus got Olga, and Mira was scheduled to meet up with Sado partway through his and Minerva's fight. As for Jura, Lyon, and the dragon slayers, it was a bit more random chance.

As Sado skidded around a corner, the announcer reported Jura taking out Ichiya. Then, Shelia took out Risley Law. Finally, Sado slowed to a stop, smiling as he stared up at the library. He walked into the library, walking past the receptionist area to the main room where there was a large open space, then a stairway leading up to a balcony-style second level. Seated in the center of the open space, reading a book entitled "Memory," was none other than Rufus Lore. Exactly as Mavis said she believed he would be. She hadn't been certain, though, so she didn't make it an official part of the plan.

"So she was right after all," Sado smiled. "Good. Then I can take you out of the game before you cause any more trouble."

"You not only withstood my spell before, as your teammate Laxus did, you caught it and used it to aid you against Cuatro Puppy's most powerful wizard," Rufus said calmly, turning the page. "I've never seen anything like what you did. However, I've now memorized that ability of yours, so now it won't work again." He extended a hand, a blast of golden energy flashing out of it at Sado, only for Sado to bat it aside with the back of his forearm. He stared at Sado over his book, eyes narrowing. "Am I correct in assuming that you are Team Fairy Tail's leader?"

"You are," Sado nodded. "And I know Minerva is yours. I'll be dealing with her next. But for now, I'll be beating you into a hole into the ground. It's nothing personal. You're just an annoyance that my teammates don't need."

Rufus stood, closing his book and sighing. Sado slammed his hands together, then swung his right at Rufus, a wall of flaming arrows shooting through the air at him, only for Rufus to leap over it. A moment later, Sado set his hands on the ground, Rufus diving to the side as it exploded where he had been. Rufus grinned.

"Memorized," Rufus said. "I have memories of your ice, as well as memories of Olga's black lightning. I can combine them into any spell I wish."

"Yeah?" Sado grinned. "Well, let's see you memorize this one then."

He placed the palms of his hands together, focusing.

"Fire Make Fire Storm," Sado said, separating his hands and spinning, a massive flaming tornado forming around him then shooting at Rufus.

A half dozen more suddenly exploded into existence around the room, all of them raging around randomly, Rufus dodging around them.

"Fire Make Devil!" Sado shouted, swinging his hand and forming a dozen flaming silhouettes with flaming horns and tails, all of them sprinting at Rufus.

Rufus raised a hand, black lightning exploding out and beginning to tear through the floor, walls, and ceiling. One bolt hit a tornado and exploded, blasting the tornado out of existence. Then, Rufus swung a hand, several flaming humanoids with black lightning coursing over their bodies forming and sprinting at Sado's, only to be destroyed in a hail of fireballs, courtesy of Sado's creations. The black lightning flashing around finally began to target the silhouettes, having finished the tornados, and began to blast them rapidly. Just as the eighth was blasted, the rest skidded to a stop, Rufus allowing his spell to fade, looking around the circle the silhouettes had formed with Sado around him.

"It's over," Sado said.

"Is it?" Rufus asked. "How so?"

"Simple," Sado smiled. "I've won."

A pentagram exploded into existence inside the circle, Rufus looking around in shock and fear. The silhouettes all roared deafeningly as Sado raised a hand in front of himself, directly at Rufus. Rufus smirked, raising a hand, but when nothing happened, his smile faded instantly and he stared at Sado in fear.

"Don't bother trying to make a memory clone," Sado said. "You may be able to memorize anything, and turn that into a weapon, but this circle blocks the magic of anyone I have trapped inside of it. Now, goodnight."

The pentagram suddenly flashed and vanished, reappearing on Rufus's torso. The silhouettes all turned into tendrils of flame, shooting forward into the pentagram. Then, the pentagram exploded, his shirt and vest being blasted into ribbons. As he crashed to the ground, Sado smirked, cracking his neck and walking over to Rufus, who began to push himself up slowly.

"Just go to sleep," Sado said, stomping on Rufus's back, slamming him back to the ground, knocking him out.

He sighed, looking around. All in all, they hadn't done too much damage. The floor would have to be replaced, and the chair Rufus had been in was smashed, but Sado had done a decent job not completely decimating the building. He walked outside, looking around. He began to jog down the street, following Mavis's strategy once again. As he ran, he sensed a spike in magical energy that he placed as Natsu's. He knelt, placing a hand to the ground, feeling the barest hint of a tremble for several seconds before it stopped. He sighed. That was why they hadn't reported to Makarov yet. They had been discovered. Whoever they were fighting, Sado doubted they were week, if he could sense Natsu's power from where he was.

Sado sighed, standing and continuing to run. The city was too big to find anyone else quickly. He settled in for a long run, heading for the place Mavis had decided Minerva would likely choose to attack him rather than hiding and watching everyone.

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	74. Chapter 74

I do not own any of the original Fairy Tail characters.

* * *

Couple's Match

Sado stepped around a corner and stopped, leaning against the wall as he watched Shelia and Lyon fight against Mira in her first She devil form. She was holding her own, but he could tell she was still holding back. He pushed off of the wall after a moment and placed his fist against his hand. Then, just as Lyon sent an Ice Dragon at Mira from behind, Sado sent his own down the street, the Fire Dragon grabbing the Ice Dragon from below, carrying it high into the air before biting down, shattering it, then flying back down to land wrapped around Mira, Sado stepping up beside it, resting a hand on the side of the dragon's head, the dragon tilting it. Sado scratched the dragon's head lightly as he watched Lyon and Shelia.

"Good boy," Sado said.

"Your Fire Make creatures are rather animate," Lyon said. "Quite convincing."

"You misunderstand," Sado said. "Ice creates form that is generally more stable and more definite than fire. But fire's true power isn't the fact that it's solid. Fire is alive. When I make a Fire Make animal, be it a dragon or a wolf, it's not just animate. It's a living thing."

"You can create life?" Lyon gaped.

"Not exactly," Sado said. "The souls existed before hand. I simply give them a form to control. They're like my pets."

"Who are they?" Lyon asked.

"I'm glad you asked," Sado smiled. "I'll show you by the end of this fight. Shall we Mira?"

"Let's," Mira nodded.

Before anyone could take a step, however, the ground began to tremble. Sado sensed Kagura and Erza's power instantly, but also Minerva. He growled in annoyance.

"That selfish..." Sado sighed heavily, placing his palms together.

"Oh no you don't!" Lyon shouted, sending several dozen ice eagles at Sado and Mira. "I watched your fight with Rufus on the screen. I'm not falling for that one!"

Sado's dragon exhaled a stream of flames, melting the eagles. Then, Sado curled a hand into a fist, forming a sword and his wings before he and Mira shot forward.

"Ice Make Cold Excalibur!" Lyon quickly slammed his hands together before separating them, forming a massive ice broadsword.

He slashed at Sado, the blade crashing into Sado's, halting his charge. As Sado shoved Lyon's sword away and moved to counter, Mira crashed into Shelia, the pair flying high into the air, Shelia using her magic to stay airborne as the pair fought.

"I like the sword," Sado said, shoving the sword aside effortlessly again, slamming a fist into Lyon's gut and lifting him off the ground then flipping, kicking him away. "Say, what's up with you and Ur? You two do it yet?"

"No!" Lyon shouted, face scarlet. "Shut up! Ice Make Tiger!"

The creature leapt at Sado, only for Sado's dragon to crash down on it, smashing it into oblivion. Then, ice spikes exploded ut of the ground, destroying the dragon.

"I hope I didn't hurt your pets," Lyon said.

"You didn't," Sado said. "Fire has no nerve endings, so they don't feel pain."

"That's good," Lyon growled, driving his sword into the ground and placing his palms together, Ice Make magic energy flying out from between them before he swung his hands out to the sides. "Ice Make Wolf Pack!"

More than a dozen Ice Wolves formed around Sado and Lyon, in the streets, on the roofs of buildings, one even standing inside of an open window. Sado chuckled, lifting a hand.

"Alright boys," Sado said. "Time to stretch your legs. Fire Make Hell Hound." He snapped his fingers and three tornados of fire exploded to life in a triangle around him.

As the tornados died down, it left three canine monsters behind. All three were different from Lyon's wolves. Their skin was molten rock, lava dripping out of the cracks between the stones. Fire licked out of their mouths and randomly from the cracks in their bodies. Their eyes glowed with a sinister red light, and all three were snarling viciously.

"Sick 'em boys," Sado said.

The hellhounds roared like dragons, tendrils of flame shooting out of their mouths before they took off, each tackling an Ice Wolf and biting a chunk out of their throat before sending a jet of flame at another. The other Ice Wolves attacked them, but the hellhounds fought back, the fight every bit as vicious as if they were actual animals fighting to the death. As they fought, Sado charged at Lyon, slashing at him from the side. Lyon blocked it but Sado's sword smashed straight through, Lyon flipping over it and then leaping away.

"You can't focus on controlling your wolves and fighting me at the same time," Sado said, even as Lyon's broadsword regenerated. "But my pets aren't puppets. They do as they please. You have my full attention."

Lyon huffed, taking a step forward and slashing the ground in a line heading toward Sado. Massive ice spikes began to shoot out of the ground at him, but Sado slashed it, fire shooting through the ice in a line before exploding. Just as it did, Shelia crashed into Lyon. Both hit the ground and the last of the Ice Wolves was destroyed. Mira landed beside Sado, the three Hellhounds walking over to stand behind the pair, one watching from between them, and one peeking around each side, obediently awaiting command.

"Lyon!" Shelia gasped as she regained her bearings from Mira having hit her with whatever she had. "Hang on, I'll heal you!"

She quickly healed him, then healed herself as they stood, Lyon watching Sado cautiously.

"You're powerful," Lyon said. "But we can still win. Shelia, let's go!"

"Right!" Shelia nodded, forming a sphere of Wind God Slayer magic and pulling it back, Lyon forming an Ice Cannon.

Both launched their attacks, the blasts mixing into a spiraling drill of ice, frozen air, and pitch black wind. Sado smirked, extending his left hand, Mira holding out her right, holding it beside his. He formed a fireball as she formed a sphere of dark Magic Energy. Then, the spheres spun together into a swirling ball of fire and darkness then firing into a beam similar to Lyon and Shelia's. The difference, however, was that when the blasts met, Sado and Mira's blasted straight through, Lyon and Shelia both diving out of the way, Mira and Sado raising their respective hands, their blast shooting into the sky before exploding. Lyon and Shelia stood, glaring at the pair.

"I should have known you two would just bulldoze your way through that," Lyon growled.

Sado chuckled, forming a ball of fire in each hand. "Yeah, you really should have." He placed his hands together, the fireball shrinking into his right fist. "Fire Make Deity."

He separated his hands and flames exploded to life before him and Mira, growing and spiraling together before forming into a massive flaming creature standing double their height with cracked obsidian armor with jagged spikes all over it, the cracks glowing cherry red, and the rest of its body, be it its arms between the vambraces and the chest plate, or its clawed hands and feet, were formed entirely out of condensed flames, the same way Sado's devil traits were. The creature's head was a flame reaching out of the chest plate's neck hole with a pair of glowing red eyes and a glowing red mouth full of jagged teeth somewhere inside of it. Lyon and Shelia stared at the creation before Shelia shot forward, a massive wall of black wind blasting into the creature, making it rock back on its feet. Then, it rocked forward, one arm raised as a massive molten rock hammer formed and it swung it downward, Lyon tackling Shelia out of the way as the hammer demolished the street.

"Are you trying to kill her!?" Lyon shouted.

"Relax," Sado said. "It won't kill her. Just knock her out."

Lyon shot forward, forming a broadsword again and slashing the creature, only for the sword's blade to melt. He spun instantly, forming an Ice Cannon and blasting the creature, making it take a step forward. Then, Shelia's most powerful spell, the one Wendy had only barely avoided when she fought Shelia, the one that looked like black feathers, blasted into the creature from below, sending it rocketing into the air, where it broke apart, the obsidian crashing back down. However, just as Shelia turned back toward Sado and Mira, Mira appeared in front of her, holding a sphere of darkness in front of Shelia's face. A moment later, Shelia's eyes slipped closed and she dropped.

"Shelia!" Lyon shouted. "What did you do!?"

"She's just asleep," Sado said, cracking his knuckles. "Now, Let's finish this, shall we?"

"Yes," Lyon snarled. "Let's."

He shot forward, broadsword in hand, but before he could get there, Sado appeared over him, Lyon not having seen him move, and smashed a fireball into Lyon's back, the fireball exploding and blasting Lyon down the street. He crashed down hard and began to stand, only for Mira to use the same sleep spell on him as she had on Shelia.

"Okay," Sado said. "Time to go and get Minerva."

"I'll see you when this is over, okay?" Mira asked.

"Okay," Sado nodded, kissing her before turning and forming his wings, streaking into the air and toward where he could sense Minerva.

She had left her battle with Erza and Kagura shortly after arriving, just after using an attack that resulted in a gigantic explosion. Sado was glad she had. Now, he was free to fight her himself. And he would definitely be making her pay for what she had done to Juvia.

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	75. Chapter 75

I do not own any of the original Fairy Tail characters.

* * *

Payback

Sado landed across the courtyard from courtyard was surrounded by four more, creating a massive area that could be destroyed without damaging homes. And all of the courtyards were raised above the city, once again helping to avoid unnecessary destruction. Minerva smiled, looking to the side. On the ground beside her, lay Millianna, her back bleeding from numerous deep gashes, obvious signs of torture.

"You bitch!" Sado snarled. "You'll pay for that."

"We'll see," Minerva said.

Sado's hellhounds suddenly landed around him, but he whistled and they all sat down, glaring at Minerva. "Minerva, goddess of strategy and tactics. Time to rest boys. I'll be dealing with this personally."

The three Hellhounds' fires went out and their bodies crumbled away to ash, blowing away in the wind. As it did, Sado lit his hands on fire, kneeling. Suddenly, his every cell seemed to come alive with bloodlust. He spun, sensing for the source seconds before the side of a raised courtyard in the distance, where Erza and Kagura had been fighting, exploded, a massive wave of white energy nearly a fifth the size of Crocus exploding out of it and tearing through the city before fading. Sado turned back to Minerva in time to swat a fist away, Minerva's fist coated by one of her odd spheres. He didn't know exactly what kind of magic it was, but he wasn't going to bother asking. He was just going to make her regret being born.

"Announcer, how much damage are we allowed to do?" Sado asked. "For example, can they fix the entire city if it's completely leveled?"

"That's what I've been told," the announcer said, having heard the question over the screen. "Oh my God! Kagura is down! Erza Scarlet is the winner! Wait, Kagura's getting back up! Neither of these girls want to throw in the towel!"

"If they can fix everything," Sado said, his wings and claws beginning to form, "then I don't need to hold back. Phoenix Flight!"

He extended his wings along his arms, the wings exploding into his phoenix wings as the rest of the flame silhouette appeared as he rocketed off the ground at Minerva. She had leapt back when he began to speak with the announcer, and that gave him plenty of room. She smirked, Sado suddenly finding himself hurtling toward Millianna, however, he pulled a turn as wide as a pinhead and shot at Minerva again, Minerva swearing and leaping backward, forming a sphere to try to block his strike. Instead, as he impacted it, the flames exploded, the sphere shattering. Then, his devil's claw fist crashing into her stomach, hurling her away. She bounced once before flipping to her feet, glaring at him.

Then, she swung a hand up, a sphere around it and a string of the same magic energy suddenly attached to a second on Sado's left foot. Sado was yanked into the air but flipped, grabbing the tendril of magic energy and flipped, extending his wings and stopping himself before yanking, flipping Minerva over himself and smashing her down in the street below her, sending her crashing along it. As she stood, he shot down out of the air toward her. She spun, her fist crashing into his, sending out a massive explosion that blasted the nearby buildings. Sado flipped backward, touching his feet to the ground for a moment before shooting forward, fist crashing into a sphere yet again. This time, a fireball shot out of it, blasting Minerva backward. Sado planted his feet, inhaling then exhaling a stream of white-hot flames. Minerva flipped, landing on her feet and suddenly being replaced by a chunk of stone. Just as Sado began to turn, Minerva slammed a sphere into his side, sending him blasting along the ground.

"You're fast," Minerva said.

"If only you know," Sado grinned, yanking his hand upward from the ground.

The ground below Minerva exploded, a sphere suddenly around her, blocking most of the blast but shattering, allowing Minerva to crash down hard. Within a second, Sado was dragging her through the ground, forming a trench as he gripped her face, dragging her head first. She flipped, kicking him backward and he flipped over, forming a massive fireball over his head, hurling it at her, only for Minerva to send a sphere into it, making it explode in midair.

"And Rogue is down!" the announcer shouted. "Gajeel wins!"

Sado shot forward, flames exploding out of his entire back, before the flames on his elbow doubled, his fist smashing straight through a sphere and drilling into Minerva's gut, blasting her backward along the ground. Just as she stopped, Sado crashed down on her knees, snapping them like twigs. Minerva screamed, forming a sphere around her right hand, only for him to grab her wrist, squeezing and snapping it before stomping on her other hand, crushing her fingers. Again she screamed, but Sado merely glared at her, kneeling and picking her up by the face.

"I still owe you for nearly killing Juvia, and now for torturing Millianna," Sado growled. "Fortunately, I'm not you, so I'll just take the five points, now."

He lifted her off the ground about four feet, then slammed her back down, head first and left her unconscious. He sighed, letting his claws fade and turning to leave, only to stop as Jura exploded through the remains of one of the buildings Sado and Minerva's fight had blasted. On the other side was Laxus, barely standing but victorious. Sado walked over, resting a hand on his shoulder and giving him some magic energy before grinning.

"Taking out Wizard Saints, now, huh?" Sado grinned. "Damn. You sure you don't want a rematch?"

"Still going to pass," Laxus said. "Who's left?"

"Sting," Sado said. "Only Sting."

For the first time, Sado noticed it had gotten dark. Then, just as this occurred to him, a blast of white magic energy shot into the sky, exploding like a firework. Sting. He was calling them all out. Sado grinned, Laxus nodded.

"Let's go," Laxus said.

Sado extended his wings, picking Laxus up and flying toward Sting, Mira flying down beside him after a moment, smiling proudly at him.

"Make goo goo eyes at each other later," Laxus said. "We have a dragon slayer to beat first."

"Psh, cake," Sado snorted.

They landed in a courtyard, Sting waiting in the center. As they landed, Gajeel and Erza walked over as well, Erza supporting herself on a stick, her right foot and ankle clearly broken.

"Sting," Sado said. "You've got balls."

"I can handle you," Sting said.

"We'll fight you one-on-one," Sado offered. "Pick your opponent."

"One-on-one?" Sting snorted. "I'll take you all out at once!"

"Do not underestimate us," Mira said. "Erza, Gajeel, and Laxus may not be at full strength, but Sado and I still have plenty of strength left. And even if we didn't, a member of Fairy Tail never gives up. Even exhausted and broken, we refuse to go down as easy as you think."

"I'm not underestimating you," Sting grinned. "I'm giving you the respect you deserve! I'll show you all the awakened power of a true dragon slayer!"

White magic energy began to explode up around him.

"If you truly wish to see this through to the end, then fine," Erza said. "We'll give you the fight you want."

All of the Fairy Tail members stood tall, their faces set in matching determined expressions, waiting for Sting to make his move. Sting's power began to climb, rapidly reaching toward a level that Sado actually felt excited to fight. However, as Sting took a step forward, his legs gave out, Sting falling to his knees, his power evaporating.

"I can't do it," Sting said, leaning forward onto his hands. "I can't beat you. I surrender."

"It's over!" the announcer shouted, cheers reaching their ears even from this distance as fireworks went off over the arena. "The winner of the Grand Magic Games is Fairy Tail!"

Sado walked over to Sting and knelt. "What did the bitch do to you?"

"She took Lecter," Sting said. "All I had to do was win. If I could just do that, I could see him again."

"I'll make her give him back," Sado said, standing.

"Erzy!" Millianna called, everyone turning.

She waved, and in her other arm, was Lecter, barely awake, but safe. Instantly, Sting sprinted forward, Lecter pushing out of Millianna's arms and meeting him with a hug. Sado smiled.

"Where'd you find him?" Sado asked.

"I woke up with him under my cape," Millianna said.

Sado nodded and turned to the rest of his team. "Game's over. Let's go throw a party!"

Everyone cheered.

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	76. Chapter 76

I do not own any of the original Fairy Tail characters.

* * *

Arrival

Sado watched as the king stepped up before the assembled wizards. The citizens of Crocus were being evacuated, but the wizards, all but Natsu's group, who were still unaccounted for and without contact, had been gathered together at the center of Crocus, where there was a massive glowing crystal. The King now stood on the base of the monument so that everyone could see him.

"Thank you all for coming!" the king said, the wizards all falling silent. "I hate to spoil the mood after the splendid display of wizardry we've all seen here today, however, I fear the kingdom may soon be in the claws of a dragon horde."

Murmurs of confusion and fear spread through the wizards instantly. Gajeel and Laxus both stiffened, watching the king in silence, their full attention on the small man. Sado was likewise paying attention. Even as a centuries old demon, he knew how deadly dragons were.

"More dragons?" Mira breathed from beside Sado. "And a horde? Can that really be possible? How do we stop something like that?"

"They shouldn't be as strong as Acnologia," Sado said. "He's a monster, even among dragons. However, a horde is still a horde and dragons are still dragons. We can't beat them through brute force."

"As we speak," the king continued, "A large-scale counter offensive is underway at the castle: The Eclipse Cannon!"

Sado's blood ran cold. The Eclipse? They were going to use the Eclipse to fight dragons? Were they insane?

"We will use it to wipe out the attacking dragons, all ten thousand of them, at once," the king said.

"How do they plan to do that?" Mira asked.

"Did he just say ten thousand?" Sado asked.

Mira was silent for a moment before nodding. "I think he did."

"We are so fucked," Gajeel growled from off to the side.

"Completely," Laxus agreed.

"I can sense you concern," the king said, bowing his head and closing his eyes. "Regrettably, given the sheer number of the dragons' forces, we expect that, at most, a few hundred of them will survive the attack."

"At _most_?" Sado scoffed. "A few _hundred_? Is he even _hearing_ himself?"

"So, I implore you wizards!" the king shouted. "Lend Fiore your assistance in dealing with this crisis! You are the best hope we have for slaying any dragons the Eclipse cannot!"

"He's insane," Sado decided. "A few hundred dragons will level Fiore."

"I beg of you," the king said, bowing. "Don't let this kingdom fall into ruin!"

After a moment of silence, the assembled wizards began to cheer. Sado sighed, resting his face in his hand. Then, he turned to the rest of Fairy Tail.

"Listen carefully," Sado said. "Dragons are not a force to be taken lightly."

"We know," Evergreen said. "We all fought Acnologia."

"No," Sado said. "You threw spells at Acnologia. It was never a fight. A sick and dying dragon on its death bed still has as much destructive power as Jura, if not more."

"You're kidding!" Evergreen gaped.

"He's not," Laxus said. "For as much as we Dragon Slayers claim to have the same power as dragons, we really can't match them for raw power. Dragon Slayer Magic is just more effective against them. But even then, Dragon Slayers are really only able to really put dragons down like nothing if the dragon is the same element as the Dragon Slayer's magic. For example, my Lightning Dragon Slayer magic would be better against an Iron Dragon than Gray's Ice, but I can't use an Iron Dragon's power to replenish my own, like I could fighting a Lightning Dragon."

"I see what you mean," Freed nodded. "What about the God Slayers?"

"They'll help too," Sado said. "But it comes down to the same problem."

The others nodded. The assembled guilds' best strategists, to include Mavis, through Makarov, began to strategize, and while they did, Sado stared up at the moon. It was blood red.

"So, hang on," Levy was saying from beside him, pulling Sado's attention away from the moon. "I thought all of the dragons have been dead for four hundred years. Ever since Acnologia killed them, back when Zeref was alive."

"So did...I," Sado trailed off as he sensed the same kind of dark power as Zeref and turned, staring toward the castle, then around at the completely dragon-free skies.

The bell tolled midnight. July seventh. The same day that the dragons that raised Natsu, Gajeel, and Wendy disappeared. The same day that thousands of dragons had disappeared four hundred years ago during the war against Acnologia. Sado felt his stomach drop as reality set it.

"Oh fuck," Sado said before a humorless laugh escaped him.

"What are you laughing about?" Gajeel asked.

"Four hundred years ago, thousands of dragons that were fighting Acnologia suddenly vanished," Sado said. "On July seventh."

"Okay," Gajeel said. "So?"

"So, dragons are extinct nowadays," Sado said.

"Evidently not," Cana said.

"No," Mira said, eyes widening with realization and fear. "Sado's right. They are extinct. Now. In this year. But the Eclipse gate creates a doorway through time!"

Everyone around them froze as she said this. Then, the ground began to shake. Sado's gut dropped even further as he turned toward the castle.

"What is that?" Erza breathed. "Magic Energy?"

"No," Sado said. "Footsteps."

Suddenly, a roar reached them, so deafeningly loud that they all had to plug their ears. Sado turned to Jet instantly.

"I can sense most of the others around the gate, but not Natsu," Sado said. "He's in the castle somewhere. I'll fly you there, but then you'll have to find him alone, since you're the fastest."

Jet nodded as Sting and Rogue reached him and the other two present Dragon Slayers.

"They're coming through the Eclipse Gate, aren't they?" Sting asked.

"Yes," Sado nodded. "I hope you four are up to this."

"We are," Laxus nodded. "Besides, you Mira and Ur are here too. We can finally test Devil's Claw's teamwork."

"That's true," Sado nodded.

Sado formed his wings and devil hands, expanding the hands so he could pick up Gajeel in one hand and Laxus and Jet in the other. Then, he shot into the sky, Mira following, holding Sting and Rogue by the hands. They were a ways away from the castle, and while carrying the others, couldn't fly at full speed, so while they flew, they had a great view of the titans arriving. The first, the one who had roared, was all grey, and had scales in spiral designs along its body and a rounded snout. As they flew toward it, it roared, stomping and sending a blast tearing through the city. Next came a dragon with dark blue scales and a fin running down the center of its back, with more up the back of each leg and on the back corners of its jaw. It also had what appeared to be a white beard hanging from the end of its snout. After that one, came a dragon made entirely out of flame. It roared at the humans around it, making them stumble over themselves as they retreated from the monstrosity, and began to follow the others along a pathway away from the gate. Next in the deadly parade of dragons, came one with light purple scales, and a dark purple, jagged, blade-like horn extending from the center of the top of its head and reaching forward, a similar smaller one on the underside of its jaw.

Finally, Sado landed beside a girl about their age with jade-green hair, a simple white dress, and an off-white cape with several pieces of gold jewelry. Sado placed her as the princess of Fiore, Hisui, instantly. Off to the side, Lucy was holding onto a handle on a large object that had a beam of magic energy shining at the Eclipse Gate, but nothing was happening. On the other side, Wendy was trying to heal Ur, who had several nasty burns on her left arm and a deep cut in her right cheek, though it seemed that Wendy was healing her ribs, at the moment.

"What happened?" Sado asked, running over to her as Jet took off to find a way into the palace to find Natsu.

"We were almost out of the palace when a future version of Rogue showed up," Wendy said. "He killed a future version of Lucy and caught Ur with a surprise attack, then began to fight Natsu. He stayed behind to fight him and we came here. But we misunderstood the situation. The dragons are-"

"Coming through the Eclipse Gate," Sado finished. "I know."

Just then, the next dragon roared. It was mostly black with a blood red underside. And as it stepped out of the gate, the ground under it shattered. It stretched its wings out and smashed part of the gate, though apparently not an important one as nothing happened because of it. Sado slammed his hands together then swung his fist and a wave of Fire Spikes shot out at the dragon, only for it to leap into the air, avoiding them and roaring again. Then, the next dragon arrive, walking through the spikes and breaking them as though they were nothing but air. It was massive and made almost entirely out of stone, with stone spikes running down the length of it.

Sado looked around. The other dragons had spread through the city already, and were beginning to walk around, crushing the city underfoot. They didn't seem to care about destroying anything, not that they didn't do it anyway, they just seemed to be getting their bearings. Two of them roared, the sheer force of their roars alone causing buildings to begin to crumble. As the rest began to spread out, they all suddenly took to the air, but Sado had seen enough. They could not be allowed to leave. But there was only one thing that could make them all decide to stay instantly.

"I really didn't want to do this," Sado sighed. "This one's exhausting. I'm not good at it yet." He placed his palms together, fire beginning to explode out from between them, along with magic energy. "Fire Make High Dragon!"

Flames exploded to life in the middle of a deserted part of the city, the center of the flaming circle falling away, thick black smoke curling out of it, along with a deafening roar. Everyone turned, staring at the hole as a head and two forefeet reached out of it, the forefeet beginning to lift the obvious dragon up. As it began to leave the hole, it moved out of the smoke, exposing its body. It was covered with cherry-red stone, the cracks between them exposing a mixture of lava and flame. The dragon roared again, flames shooting out of its mouth in a massive spiraling torrent and blasting the metal-looking dragon, making it roar in pain and back away. Then, the dragon flexed its wings and flapped them once, the force of the gust sending previously undamaged building flying as debris as it took to the air, crashing headlong into the dragon with the fins, biting its neck before whipping its head around and hurling it into the ground, making it plow through several buildings. Sado's dragon, which his three pet hellhounds inhabited and controlled together, roared again. It swung its tail as the black and red dragon flew at it, the fireball on the end sending a wall of smaller ones out, most exploding against the dragon into a massive wall of explosion, but others missed, exploding in the city. Sado was glad the city had been evacuated. He didn't have to worry about leveling it.

"How long can you keep that up?" Mira asked.

"Not long," Sado said, already feeling the strain. "Barely ten minutes at best."

Mira nodded, looking toward Lucy, who was now kneeling with Yukino, their hands clasped and the twelve Zodiac Keys floating above them, shining, the spirits attached to the keys pushing the gate closed as a dragon covered in hair tried to get through. Sado sent a fireball at it, lighting its shoulder on fire and it roared, rearing back from the gate, allowing it to close and lock, the keys falling back to their owners.

"Good," Sado said. "Now, Gajeel, you'll handle the Stone Dragon, Sting, the silver one. Rogue, the water one's yours. Laxus, the one with the bladed head is yours. I'll take the black one and the fire one until Natsu shows up to handle the Fire Dragon. Mira-"

"You just had to go and ruin my plans, didn't you?" a voice said off to the side, everyone spinning toward it. "No matter. I'm sure seven dragons are more than enough."

"So you're Future Rogue, huh?" Sado asked, staring at the man.

He had black hair on the right side of his head, bangs covering the right half of his face and a scar reaching out from under them across the bridge of his nose, a black tattoo below his left eye and reaching up beside it on the left, and white hair on the left side of his head, all of it pulled back into a ponytail that nearly reached the ground. He wore a white coat with a red collar, white pants, and a short white cape over his shoulders.

"Enough, for what?" Yukino asked.

"Yeah, and what happened to Natsu?" Lucy demanded.

"To be honest, ten thousand is too many to control," Future Rogue said, ignoring them both.

"That's the traitor, the one who lied about the Eclipse Cannon," Hisui said.

"This is the time traveler who fooled you?" Arcadios, now wearing a suit of pure white plate mail armor, said.

"How could you?" Lucy demanded. "Is this why you were so against me closing the gate?"

"How can you control dragons?" Sado asked. "And why do I sense Sting's magic from you as well?"

"I am a White Shadow Dragon Slayer," Future Rogue said. "I stole Sting's power for myself, and with it, I defeated Natsu Dragneel."

"He'll be back," Sado said. "Nothing keeps that guy down."

"You're not joking," Gray snorted.

"You stole my power?" Sting asked, staring at Future Rogue, then turning to their own time's Rogue.

"I would never!" Rogue said.

"Ignore that part," Sado said. "Focus on stopping your dragons for now. And I'll handle Future Rogue."

"Can you fight him at the same time as keeping your own dragon going, and fighting two more dragons?" Laxus asked.

"I'm going to let my dragon disappear and fight them all myself," Sado said. "So yes. I can."

"That's hysterical," Future Rogue smiled. "I never did get the chance to kill you myself in my time. That pesky Devil Slayer had already done it for me. But this time, I'll beat him to the punch."

"Who was it?" Sado asked.

"Sorry," Future Rogue smiled. "No spoilers. My ignorant subjects! Listen and take heed! I hereby proclaim this the end of the era of human rein! I will usher in a new age! The era of dragons!"

The dragons all landed on a building behind Future Rogue, a couple of them sporting some nasty burns, and the water dragon having a few nasty gashes, but other than that they were fine. Sado looked back at his own dragon as it landed behind him, lowering its head apologetically.

"It's fine," Sado said, rubbing the end of its snout. "He's controlling them. You rest."

The dragon made a low rumbling noise deep in its throat before turning to ash and blowing away, Sado sighing as the drain on his magic lifted. He turned back to the dragons, staring at a green one on his far right.

"Zirconis?" Sado blinked. "You're here?"

"Hm?" Zirconis stared at him before laughing. "Well well, if it isn't the little baby Fire Devil. You've grown up. You seem different, though."

"We'll have this conversation again after you die and we revive your spirit," Sado said. "But yeah, I'm half human now. Long story."

"Sounds like it," Zirconis nodded. "And for the record, I'm not being controlled. I'm smarter than these idiots."

"I'm sure," Sado snorted. "Or you're just too disgruntled."

"Watch it, brat," Zirconis said. "I'm still older than you."

"Actually, given the current year and your method of reaching it, we're about the same age right now."

"Enough!" Future Rogue shouted, looking up at the dragons. "I order you to slaughter all of the wizards in this city! I want every one of them dead!"

The dragons all took off instantly, spreading out once more and heading for the wizards now spread around the city.

* * *

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	77. Chapter 77

I do not own any of the original Fairy Tail characters.

* * *

Dragon Battle

"Enough!" Future Rogue shouted, looking up at the dragons. "I order you to slaughter all of the wizards in this city! I want every one of them dead!"

The dragons all took off instantly, spreading out once more and heading for the wizards now spread around the city, all except the silver one.

"I can't believe the dragons are actually obeying him," Carla said.

"He _did_ say he could control them," Panther Lily said. "Is it a spell?"

"That's right," Future Rogue said. "The secret art of controlling dragons, known as Dragon Tamer Magic."

"I didn't even know that existed," Happy said.

Behind Future Rogue, the silver dragon lowered its hand, allowing Future Rogue to climb on. Then, it too took off. As that one flew away, Zirconis landed on top of the building again, grinning wickedly.

"Hey Zirconis, that was Atlas Flame, wasn't it?" Sado asked.

"It was," Zirconis nodded. "Now, I'm curious to see how much stronger you've become."

"Everyone get behind me," Sado said, Princess Hisui, Arcadios, and all of Sado's friends, to include Sting and Rogue, following his command instantly.

Zirconis roared, a massive beam of blood red energy flying out. Sado held out a hand, a jet of white flame shooting out and meeting the blast, instantly doubling back on itself, forming a stretched dome around Sado and the others, Zirconis's beam bending around the flames. Then, as the beam faded, Sado let the flames end, brushing dust off of his shoulder and smirking.

"Not bad," Zirconis said. "And to think you're still holding back. You've actually become quite strong."

"Thanks," Sado said.

"How can you just stand there and chat when everyone else...is...HUH! ? !" Lucy stared at the soldiers who had been hit by the blast in shock and confusion.

All of them were completely unharmed, but their clothes and weapons were gone, leaving them nude and covering themselves.

"Zirconis's magic doesn't kill humans," Sado said. "Even among the dragons that ate humans, he was never really evil. More grumpy and full of himself than anything. Sting, Rogue, go and help your guild. Wendy, how much longer until Ur's healed?"

"I'm done," Wendy said. "She's just out of Magic Energy."

Sado walked over, setting a hand on Ur's shoulder and transferring her some of his. Ur's eyes opened and she stood, looking around, then up at Zirconis.

"Well," Ur said. "I'm going to go ahead and assume that the fact that you're not actively fighting him to mean he's on our side."

"No," Sado said. "But his magic doesn't kill, it just removes clothes."

"Oooookaaaaaay," Ur said. "Well, I suppose there are worse fates."

She stood, looking around at the five other battles, then up at Future Rogue, who was riding around high in the sky still, Natsu trying to reach him as the dragon tried to shake him off.

"Why isn't he-" Before she could finish, a massive explosion went off on the dragon's back, making it drop nearly a hundred feet before it recovered.

"Can you hear me?" Natsu's voice shouted. "Let's quit playing around and use our Dragon Slayer Magic!"

"About time," Sado smiled. "Okay, Wendy, you'll handle Zirconis. Try not to get blasted. Sting and Rogue will handle the purple one together. Laxus, Gajeel, take your pick."

"What about you?" Ur asked.

"What about Devil's Claw?" Laxus asked. "We need to train against something too powerful to kill in one hit sooner or later."

"That's true," Sado nodded. "Ur, Mira, and I will be handling the two that you two don't take out."

"Lookout!" Mira shouted.

Sado looked up and dove to the side, tackling Hisui out of the way as dragon eggs began to crash down all over the city from the dragon Future Rogue and Natsu were on. As Sado stood, he lit his hands on fire.

"Destroy them all!" Sado shouted. "Now!"

Mira transformed into her She Devil form only for the eggs to all shatter, tiny machine-looking dragons slightly taller than Wendy standing from inside.

"Damn," Sado sighed. "I thought we'd have a bit longer. Everyone be careful."

Just then, blasts of light began to crash into the purple dragon, which Sabertooth had been fighting, and an explosion of blood red magic crashed into the Stone Dragon's back.

"Cobra?" Sado blinked. "No way!"

"Yes way," a familiar voice said from behind them, everyone turning to see Angel walking toward them in her usual dress. "That Council Wizard Doranbolt sent the two of us to help out."

"Angel!" Sado smiled. "Yukino, is this her?"

"Sorano!" Yukino shouted, hurling herself at Angel, who caught her, then simply stared at her in shock. "It's really you!"

"Yukino!" Angel smiled, eyes watering before she hugged her back. "I never thought I'd see you again."

"Angel, can you still use Angel Magic?" Sado asked.

"Yes," Sorano nodded. "But, I gave up the name Angel. You were right. I can't be one."

"Angel Magic?" Yukino blinked. "But doesn't that kill the user?"

"Not anymore," Sorano smiled. "Thanks to Sado and a friend of mine, I can use it safely now. What do you need?"

"There's a White Shadow Dragon Slayer on that flying dragon, he's controlling the others," Sado said. "I need your archer to kill him. But don't hit Natsu, who's also up there."

"Right," Sorano nodded, stepping away from Yukino as golden energy began to shot up around her, and clasped her hands in front of her chest, head bowed as if in prayer. "Adriel!"

A massive column of light exploded up behind her and the same archer that had taken Sado's arms and legs before rose, looking at him before turning back to the front. Sado sighed in relief as Sorano raised a hand.

"Kill the White Shadow Dragon Slayer!" Sorano said.

The archer drew its bow, a glowing golden arrow forming, then loosed said arrow. It streaked through the sky, impacting with the dragon between the shoulder blades and exploding. The dragon roared in pain, falling out of the sky, but as Sado watched, Future Rogue was still standing on the dragon's back, watching them.

"Well, you got the dragon, at least," Sado said. "Hard to believe he dodged it."

"Impressive feat," Sorano agreed, allowing Adriel to disappear. "I could kill the dragon, I think."

Suddenly, the dragon stood, it back's scales cracked where the arrow had hit, but no visible wounds.

"I take it back," Sorano said. "I might not be able to."

"We'll deal with it," Sado said. "Sorano, I want you to protect Hisui."

"Right," Sorano nodded.

"Um, Sado?" Lucy spoke up. "What happened to all the baby dragons?"

Sado looked around, noticing, for the first time, the distinct lack of attacking dragon infants. He walked to the edge of the palace's raised courtyard, looking down. The infants were swarming around below them, but not at them, at none other than Twilight Ogre. One girl, which he hadn't even realized Twilight Ogre had, in particular who was wearing a blue bikini, see-through pink tights, and a blue cap had pinkish red flames extended like a tail from the small of her back and from the back of her head. She spun, the flames blasting a group of infants as they leapt at her. He watched as the infants flew backward, crashing to the ground in a heap. Then, after several seconds of them doing nothing, Sado huffed.

"What a jip," Sado said. "So, apparently, the infants are actually that durable."

"Really?" Yukino asked.

"Really," Mira nodded from where she had been watching beside Sado. "A member of Twilight Ogre just took a group down."

"Twilight Ogre!?" Lucy gaped. "What are they even doing here? They're weak!"

"You're right," Sado nodded. "You guys should give them a hand."

Gray grinned, cracking his knuckles but Sado caught his arm, stopping him.

"You are going to go and help Fairy Tail," Sado said. "Most of the infants are heading that way, and they were in the middle of the swarm. But be careful. Durable or not, their breath attacks would still be lethal."

Gray nodded and turned, forming himself an ice pathway as he ran toward Fairy Tail. Sado nodded to the others and they scattered to fight infant dragons around the city, leaving Ur and Mira. Sado turned to them then looked around. Natsu was currently on top of Atlas Flame's head, trying to eat him. Cobra was dealing with the Stone Dragon. Gajeel was struggling against the black and red dragon. Laxus seemed to be heading toward them, probably to help Wendy. Sting was fighting the purple dragon. Rogue was headed for the water dragon. Sado turned to look toward the metal dragon again, seeing it was airborne once again, with Future Rogue on its back.

"I'm going to deal with Future Rogue and his dragon," Sado said. "Mira, Ur, pick a dragon slayer who needs help and back them up. I'd start with Gajeel. He's the most banged up."

Just then, a massive sphere of darkness exploded into existence off to the side, Sado sensing Jellal's magic energy. He smiled. The gang was all here. Then, he turned, extending his wings and blasting off of the ground, flying out to meet Future Rogue.

* * *

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	78. Chapter 78

I do not own any of the original Fairy Tail characters.

* * *

Dragon Battle part 2

Sado flipped, landing on the metal dragon's back and glaring at Future Rogue. Future Rogue turned to him, uncrossing his arms, black and white magic energy exploding off of him, each centered around one of his fists, shadow in his right, white in his left.

"The Fire Devil," Future Rogue growled. "I've been waiting for this."

"I'm sure you have," Sado said, allowing the rest of his devil features to appear. "Let's go!"

He shot forward, slashing at Future Rogue, only for his hand to pass through him as shadows. Then, as he turned, he exhaled a jet of snow-white flames, which engulfed the dragon's head and upper torso, the dragon roaring in pain.

"Motherglare!" Future Rogue shouted, appearing on its back as the flames faded.

"Heads up!" Sado shouted, flying up over it and expanding his right fist, flying downward.

Future Rogue swore, leaping away from Motherglare just as Sado's fist exploded into the cracked part of its scales, the explosion blasting it into the ground again, the scales now having a chunk blown out of them. However, still the dragon was only barely burned.

"Fine then," Sado sighed. "One more time."

He held his hands out, but just before he could cook Motherglare, Future Rogue appeared, smashing a darkness-covered fist into his gut, blasting him away. He flipped, stopping himself as Rogue shot toward him, propelled by Motherglare's wing. Sado hurled a fireball the size of a house at Future Rogue, then took off over the fireball, watching as Future Rogue blocked it with a punch, using Sting's magic. Then, Sado shot toward Motherglare again before Sting could stop him. Once he was close enough for his liking, he exhaled a stream of pure white flames, only for Motherglare to lurch into movement, the flames missing and igniting a dozen buildings. Motherglare took to the skies once again, Future Rogue leaping onto its back again. Then, Natsu and Atlas Flame flew overhead, Atlas Flame blasting headlong into Motherglare, biting its neck and beginning to try to wrestle it to the ground. As it did, Natsu began to inhale, sucking up all of the flames Sado had started, then grinning.

"Thanks Sado!" Natsu shouted. "I'll take him from here! You go help the others with the babies!"

Sado nodded and turned flying through the streets rapidly, allowing his horns and tail to fade and forming himself a Fire Make Sword, slashing infant dragons as he passed, enjoying hearing them explode. Finally, he slowed to a stop, having run out of targets, but having found Ultear kneeling in the remains of a destroyed building. At least he thought that's what it was. It was so destroyed he couldn't really tell. He walked over, letting his flames fade and kneeling in front of her.

"What happened?" Sado asked.

"I almost...murdered an innocent man," Ultear said, tears coating her cheeks.

"Rogue, you mean," Sado said. "That would stop all of this. I can understand why."

"That's not the point!" Ultear shouted. "It wasn't a last resort to me! It was the first thing I thought of! My mind instantly jumped to murder! And I would have been fine with it! I haven't changed at all!"

"Yes, you have," Sado said. "Look at yourself. Not only did you stop yourself from murdering him, but you are also scared and angry with yourself for having considered it. Before you wouldn't have even considered not killing him. You may not be perfect, but you're getting there. You're a work in progress. Just like everyone. And as for your brain jumping to murder, that's all you knew for most of your life. It's perfectly understandable for it to have jumped to that. You were taught to kill and manipulate since you were a young girl. That much instinct is hard to rewrite."

"What do I do?" Ultear asked.

"Find another way," Sado said. "I had it easy because my instincts were rewritten by a loss of memory. But for you, find another way to end this. And then after that, fall in love. Find a reason to change. Mira saved me from myself more times than I can count. I know it'll help you too."

Ultear nodded and stood, looking around. "There are still a lot of dragon infants. We should start by taking those out."

"Now you're talking," Sado smiled, forming a fire platform, both stepping on as it rose into the air.

They looked around at the battles, then at the massive horde of infants not fighting anyone at the moment. Sado placed his fist against his hand, grinning at Ultear, who smiled and did the same.

"Fire Make Explosion!" Sado shouted.

"Ice Make Ice Flow!" Ultear shouted.

Massive spikes of fire and ice began to explode from the ground, spreading through the swarm, mowing them down. They began to explode rapidly. Then, the ones they hadn't killed, barely two dozen of them, began to fire their breath attacks at them, the attacks more like beams of concentrated ethernano than Sado had expected. He grabbed Ultear instantly, forming his wings and shooting off of the platform just before it was hit. Then, he flew to Fairy Tail, landing and setting her down with Gray and Lyon, who were fighting infant dragons together, before shooting away from them to fight infants alone once again. As the flew, the infants, all of them, began to fire off their breath attacks more and more until it was the only thing they did. And there were so many that he could barely avoid them and attack at the same time. Finally, he flipped, streaking back the other way, launching fireballs, streams of flame, and Fire Make spells back at the infants as he fell back to Gray and the others. Just as he pulled around a corner toward them, an infant launched a breath attack at Juvia from behind. His blood ran cold. Gray shoved Juvia aside.

He slammed his fist into his hand. Ultear rammed her shoulder into Gray, the blast punching straight through chest. A dozen more infants burst out of the rubble, also firing. Sado ripped his fist away from his hand, a massive wall of flames blocking the blasts, barely withstanding the resulting explosion. As soon as he landed beside Ultear, he could see that it had hit her heart. She'd be dead in minutes. He extended his senses, finding Shelia quickly. He picked Ultear up and grit his teeth.

"Focus on the battle!" Sado snarled before exploding off of the ground, his Fire Make wall exploding into spikes of fire destroying the infants that had nearly killed Gray and Juvia. Sado sped through the streets as fast as he could manage, Ultear barely clinging to life in his arms. Finally, he found Shelia, fighting against the infants with Sherry. "Shelia!"

Shelia looked over at him and shouted in surprise, blasting a group of nearby infants then sprinting over, Sado taking her place in the battle. Infants began to flood down the street ahead of them, several dozen and counting. Sherry staggered back a step, her Rock Doll being blasted into rubble almost instantly.

"I've had enough of you," Sado snarled, flames rolling off of his hands.

He swung them forward and the flames exploded down the street, filling the street completely before hitting the infants, any that were hit exploding, the flames from said explosions instantly continuing down the street as well. When it finally began to clear, the infants had all been destroyed.

"Got them," Sado growled. "Shelia, is she okay?"

"I've repaired the most life-threatening parts," Shelia said. "I think I can save her as long as no baby dragons show up."

"Try to hurry," Sado said. "I'll buy you what time I can."

He flew into the air, looking around. There were baby dragons closing in on them from all sides, but as he began to blast them with fireballs, they stopped, beginning to fire up at him rapidly. He began to fly around, dodging the blasts as best he could while still blasting the infants, but it was far from easy. Every one he blasted seemed to be replaced by two. Finally, he was forced to the ground, growling in annoyance.

"We're about to have a lot of company," Sado said. "How's it coming?"

"Done!" Shelia said, standing and turning to look around. "How much is a lot?"

"Too much," Sado said, forming three fire wolves. "Get them all out of here boys."

The wolves barked and Shelia and Sherry climbed on while Sado lay Ultear over one of them. Then, the three took off, dashing down the street and through destroyed buildings as fast as they could, all heading toward where Sado had last seen Gray, Lyon, and Juvia. Then, Sado turned, looking around as the infants arrived, stepping into view all around him.

"You guys are really getting on my nerves now," Sado snarled, flames bursting to life around his fists. "Just die!"

He slammed his hands into the ground, pure white flames exploding into the air in a massive ring, blasting dozens of infants. Then, as the flames faded, Sado took off, flying into the air again. All around the battlefield, he could see his friends and allies being pushed back. He sensed Romeo, Macao, and Wakaba off to one side, where infants were near relentlessly blasting a destroyed building and flew that way, flying over the infants and blasting all of them with a jet of white-hot flame on the way. Then, he circled around, returning to the trie to find that Romeo had a broken shoulder, Wakaba an injured back, and all three were exhausted. He set a hand on Macao and Romeo's backs, channeling some of his magical energy into them, both standing.

"Thanks," Macao said. "You holding up?"

"I've got plenty left," Sado said. "Unless I have to go all out for the next twenty minutes."

"Or if you get hit," Wakaba said. "Even you aren't immortal."

"I know," Sado said. "Try to work your way west. Gray, Juvia, and Lyon are about a quarter mile that way."

Macao nodded, and Sado took off again. As he reached the air, he looked around again, seeing that Shelia and Sherry had reached Gray and the other safely, and they were all fighting once again, defending Ultear. He looked around. Rufus Lore and Olga had found each other and were laying waste to everything around them, but Rufus looked exhausted. Not far from them, Jet and Droy rounded a corner only to find themselves facing a wall of infants. Sado dropped on front of them, blasting the infants then pointing toward Olga and Rufus.

"Sabertooth wizards are that way," Sado said. "Go now."

Both turned, sprinting toward them and Sado blasted more infants as they appeared. Then, he shot into the air again, hearing Lucy scream. He shot toward the sound, finding her surrounded and landing, tackling her as the infants' blasts passed over them, blasting each other instead. She thanked him and he picked her up, flying her to where Zirconis was being blasted by Laxus and Wendy with barely any effect. He set Lucy down beside and turned, flying away again. As he flew, he found Bacchus and Rocker, both injured but with Bacchus still fighting. He blasted the infants around them and Bacchus nodded a thanks as they began to run. Finally, he landed beside Gray again, blasting an infant that was about to fire.

"There are so many," Sado sighed. "How's Ultear?"

"She'll live," Shelia said. "She's just exhausted."

Sado nodded and looked around. "We could really use a hand."

"How many are there?" Lyon asked.

"Not counting the ones we've already killed?" Sado asked. "Hundreds left. Maybe more. That dragon up there really spat out a shit ton of eggs."

Gray nodded, blasting a group of infants. "How are the fights against the rest of the dragons going?"

"None of the Dragon Slayers are the right element," Sado said. "The only one going well is Natsu's."

"Go and help with the bigger dragons," Lyon said. "We'll handle things here."

Sado nodded and flew into the air, blasting a wave of infants on his way to buy them a little more time, then took off, flying toward the black and red dragon, which Gajeel was fighting alone. As he landed, he found Gajeel on the ground, struggling to stand.

"Stay down," Sado said. "Allow me."

He allowed his Devil Traits to form and shot forward, drilling his fist into the dragon's head, launching it backward before blasting it with a stream of flames. The dragon roared in pain, shooting into the air, Sado following. It roared, the force of it blasting Sado back into the ground, and the other dragons began to fly over as well, except for Motherglare, Zirconis, and Atlas Flame. As the four began to hover over them, Mira and Ur landed beside Sado, Ur using a pair of Ice Wings, and Laxus touched down as a lightning bolt.

"Looks like we can practice after all," Laxus said as Mira shifted into her Sitri form.

"Right," Sado nodded. "I'll take the black one."

The others nodded and they shot into the air, Sado blasting his dragon with a fireball before driving his fists into its stomach, forcing it higher. As it stopped itself, Sado punched both hands forward, a jet of white-hot flames blasting into it, making it roar in pain. The blue dragon shot toward him but Mira crashed into its head with a kick, sending it crashing into the purple one instead. Laxus, who was stuck on the ground, instantly blasted both with a Lightning Dragon Roar, both dropping to the ground in a heap. Sado's dragon swiped at him with its wing and he caught it, spinning and swinging the dragon around, smashing it into the Stone Dragon, the ice on the dragon shattering, before both crashed down on the other two just as they stood. All four roared in rage, shouting at each other to stay out of the way, then looked up at Sado, preparing to use a breath attack. Sado beat them to it, exhaling a jet of flames down onto their heads, making them all close their mouths, the breath attacks exploding instantly, hurling the dragons backward away from each other.

"Nice!" Laxus said. "Let's get 'em!"

Sado nodded, shooting down at his chosen dragon, slamming a punch into its head before grabbing its horns and spinning, hurling it into the air. It flipped, flapping its wings to steady itself as Sado exhaled, a jet of flames once again blasting into its underbelly. It roared in pain, rolling out of the way as Sado formed a massive fireball above himself, then exhaled a blast through it, making it go with the blast. It hit the dragon and exploded, sending it spinning skyward. A moment later, the other three crashed into each other hard. Then, Sado's crashed down on top of them.

"I'm going to finish this now," Sado said, a mall of flames exploding into life behind him, spiraling into a massive fist, which swung around, shooting toward the dragons.

"Not yet!" the black dragon roared, all four firing a breath attack through the fist, dispersing it.

However, as soon as they did, Sado exhaled a jet of flames that began to make the ground and rubble around it glow cherry red and melt. The flames crashed into the dragons, engulfing them and making all four roar in agony. After several seconds, he stopped just before the Eclipse Gate exploded, a mushroom cloud reaching several hundred feet into the air. He stared at it, then back at the dragons as they began to glow.

"Wait, so all we had to do was destroy the Eclipse Gate?" Sado said. "Damn. Wish I had known that before."

The dragons roared angrily before transforming into balls of golden light and fading. Sado looked around, seeing smaller flashes of light as all of the infants faded as well. He sighed. It was over.

* * *

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	79. Chapter 79

I do not own any of the original Fairy Tail characters.

* * *

Celebration

Sado smiled as he looked around at the party. It looked amazing. The king had thrown a feast as a celebration of them defeating the dragons. And while the city was still completely leveled, no one had been killed. Shelia and Wendy had managed to heal all of the wounded and the princess had had a dress supplied for every woman while the royal tailors had made every man, besides Sado, a new suit. Sado had stuck to his tux, since he didn't trust that he wouldn't get dragged into a fight and his tux was fireproof. Beside him, Mira had her arms around his in a red dress with thin, light pink, vertical stripes, her hair in a high pony tail and flowing down her back, and the necklace he had given her sitting proudly around her neck. He smiled as he saw it. Truth be told, he had almost forgotten she hd it, despite the fact that she never took it off.

"This looks amazing," Mira said.

"Yes it does," Sado agreed before spotting Ur with Lyon and Shelia. "Oh crap."

"What?" Mira asked, looking around before seeing them. "Oh, that's right. She has until the end of this party."

"We need interference," Sado said just as Wendy was walking past. "Wendy, I need you to go and keep Shelia busy for the entire party."

Wendy looked over at them, then gave Sado a confused look.

"Ur and I made a stupid bet and I don't want her to have the satisfaction of winning," Sado said.

Wendy smiled and shook her head, waking off to go distract Shelia.

"That's cheating," Mira smiled.

"When did that rule get made," Sado smiled. "The only rule was that she couldn't get them drunk."

Mira giggled, nodding and they walked to one of the many tables laden with food. Sado grabbed a turkey drumstick while Mira chose to have a slice of pie instead. Sado smiled as he lit his food on fire and took a bite.

"No way, you eat fire too?" a voice beside them said, Sado turning to find Jellal standing there in a suit.

"Oh hey," Sado smiled. "Didn't expect to see you here. Nice suit."

"Thanks," Jellal smiled.

"Anyway, yeah, part of being what I am," Sado said. "At least, now that I have control over it. Didn't used to."

"I see," Jellal nodded. "Um...have either of you-"

"She's over near the desert table, sampling the pie," Mira smiled, pointing. "You'd better kiss her tonight. She's been waiting for you for years."

"I...I don't deserve-"

"That's enough of that," Sado said. "I'm a devil. I slaughtered literally millions. Mira saved me. I may not have fully repented, but that doesn't mean I can't be happy. You can too. You just need to stop being so hard on yourself."

Jellal was silent for a moment before smiling and nodding. "You may be right."

He wandered off and Sado settled in to watch the others as they celebrated. It wasn't a Fairy Tail celebration, and it kind of bored him because of it, but he was sure the mages would all get together and party Fairy Tail style after. Or, at least, Fairy Tail would. Suddenly, Sting and Kagura began to get into an argument about whether Yukino should join Sabertooth again or go to Mermaid Heel. Sado sighed, walking over with Mira, stopping next to Yukino.

"Both of you stop," Sado said. "I'd say it should be Yukino's choice, wouldn't you agree?"

"Her life belongs to me," Kagura said.

"Not on this," Sado said. "I'll fight you for it if you want, but in this case, it's not happening."

"I would love to go back to Sabertooth," Yukino said.

"Hah!" Sting grinned. "We win!"

"I've been watching you all, and you all seem to have finally learned what it means to be a family," Yukino smiled. "But I'm with Fairy Tail now. They've also treated me like family, and they protected me when I needed it. I'm sorry, but I'm going to stick with them."

"Oh, that reminds me," Sado said. "When you see your sister, let her know there's a spot open for her if she wants it."

Yukino's smile widened considerably and she nodded.

"No fair!" Lyon said. "You can't bribe her!"

"I'm not," Sado said. "I'm offering her a spot, and I'm offering her sister a spot."

"When did you become the Guild master?" Lyon demanded.

"Master Makarov?" Sado asked.

"I trust you," Makarov said dismissively, waving a hand and returning to drinking.

Sado grinned back at Lyon who rolled his eyes. Finally, Rogue stepped forward.

"Alright everyone, stop fighting," Rogue said. "Yukino has made her decision and arguing over it won't help. Why don't we all have a drink and then enjoy the rest of the party without turning it into a brawl."

"Oh just wait," Sado smiled. "Fairy Tail will probably throw its own party somewhere less expensive after this, and that one's going to get rowdy. Speaking of rowdy, anyone seen Natsu?"

"No," Rogue said. "No one's seen him."

"Excuse me!" Arcadios suddenly shouted from the balcony. "In honor of your performance during the games, and as thanks for your bravery in facing the greatest threat this kingdom has ever seen, His Majesty would like to personally deliver this message, pay heed."

"Hi Mister King!" Asuka shouted, waving her arms while her mother shushed her.

Sado grinned widely, laughing a little and Mira smiled knowingly, leaning on his shoulder. The doors behind Arcadios slid open and everyone watched the balcony in silence. Especially once Natsu arrived, wearing the king's cape and crown.

"Loyal subjects, shut up and listen!" Natsu shouted, then laughed.

Beside him, the pumpkin thing that had been the Grand Magic Games mascot and referee was beside him, jumping up and down in an effort to get the crown and cape from Natsu.

"Give me back my crown!" the pumpkin shouted, everyone's mouth falling open.

"All hail King Natsu!" Natsu shouted. "Ruler of Fiore!"

"How did we not see this coming?" Sado sighed, extending his wings. "I'll get him." He flew up to land on the railing and Natsu grinned proudly.

"Kneel my subject!" Natsu grinned.

Sado gently lifted the crown off of Natsu's head then slammed his fist down on Natsu, flattening him on the ground. he handed the crown and cape to the pumpkin, apologizing for Natsu, then picked him up and dropped back to the floor, slapping Natsu awake.

"You idiot," Sado said. "Are you trying to get us all arrested?"

"Uh, well, now that that's over," the pumpkin said, lifting the pumpkin off and putting his crown and cape on, his voice going back to its deeper natural state. "I would like to humbly thank each and every one of you for helping to protect my kingdom. Please stay in the castle tonight. We shall feast and celebrate until morning."

There were cheers all around and Sado smiled. Music began to play and everyone paired up to dance. After a few songs, Sado looked around, seeing Wendy trying to sneak some jello from the desert table. Alone. He stopped, Mira seeing the problem as both walked over.

"Um, Wendy," Sado said, Wendy spinning and holding the jello behind herself. "I don't care about the jello. Where's Shelia?"

"She said she needed to talk to Ur about something," Wendy said.

Sado's blood ran cold and he spun, seeing Ur at the top of the stairs leading out of the room, Lyon and Shelia both walking up past her. Ur stopped, seeing Sado staring at her, and winked, then continued on her way. Sado sighed.

"Dammit Ur," Sado sighed. "I can't believe she actually pulled it off."

"That's...unfortunate," Mira sighed. "You had better be a good cameraman."

Sado blushed and rested his face in his hands. "She is not getting within ten feet of you."

Mira giggled, slipping her hand into his and lacing their fingers. Then, she pulled him back out onto the dance floor and they began to sway to the music again.

"It feels like it's been forever since we were able to do this," Mira smiled.

"It's been too long," Sado agreed. "We should probably pick a room before they get filled up."

"Most likely," Mira smiled, nodding before looking to the side and stopping, seeing Hisui apologizing to the king. "Uh oh."

Sado looked and sighed, walking over. He stepped out of the crowd and knelt beside Hisui, bowing his head. "Your majesty, I would like to speak on Princess Hisui's behalf before you decide on a fitting punishment.

"Very well," the king nodded.

"Princess Hisui cannot be placed at fault for any of what happened, because she was being manipulated by a time traveler from the future," Sado said. "This time traveler knew of everything that would happen, and used that information to gain the princess's trust. Once he had that, he told her that the dragons would be coming from another place, and that the Eclipse Gate could be used as a cannon to kill them. She could not have known that this was not the case. Originally, the Eclipse Gate was meant to be used to stop Zeref. And, while this may not have been an overly good idea either, it was never supposed to have been used to let dragons in. However, the dragons coming through was not all bad. If they hadn't, every mage in Fiore would not have become allies, and Fiore would still be divided by infighting between magic guilds. If you must punish someone for what happened, then punish me. I was alive when the Eclipse Gate was being made, and could have stopped it, had I cared to. Had I been paying attention to the gate at the time, I would also have known that it couldn't be used as a cannon, and could have stopped this entire mess."

"Do not punish him," Arcadios said, stepping up beside him. "It is my duty to protect the kingdom and the princess. I was powerless to defend the kingdom from the threat of the dragons, and I failed to protect the princess from the time traveler's lies."

"It is my fault," Darton said. "I am the royal advisor, and yet I could not dissuade the princess, nor see through the time traveler's lies either."

"Please don't punish the princess," Lucy said. "She did everything she could to try to protect the kingdom."

The king sighed. "I have considered your words, and I have reached a punishment I feel is fitting. He motioned with his hand and a guard walked forward, holding out the king's pumpkin head. The princess must wear the pumpkin for one week."

Sado grinned as the princess smiled, pulling it on. He bowed his head again, then stood, turning and walking away, taking Mira's hand as he walked.

"Want to go choose a room?" Sado asked, Mira grinning.

"Absolutely."

They both made their way up the stairs and down a long hallway, finally finding a guard to ask directions. Once they followed his directions, they found themselves at a hallway filled with spare bedrooms. They chose one near the far end and Sado locked it before looking around. Queen size bed, huge window looking out at the mountains, and a bathroom with an in-ground tub the size of a swimming pool. He grinned. It wasn't a royal chamber, but it damn well felt like it. He turned to look at Mira and found her waiting on the bed, her dress neatly folded over the back of a desk chair off to the side. Sado smiled and shook his head.

"What was the deal?" Sado asked as he pulled his tie loose. "Two weeks? Oh yeah. This I could get used to."

* * *

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	80. Chapter 80

I do not own any of the original Fairy Tail characters.

* * *

Ryuzetsu Land

Sado sighed as he leaned back on the side of the pool, Mira seated on the edge above him, fingers combing through his hair. He could tell by the way they began to slow down that she was distracted, and he simply grinned. He didn't even need to open his eyes to know what she was looking at. He could hear Evergreen yelling at Elfman that they weren't there as a date from half the resort away, let along the next pool over. They were at Ryuzetsu Land, a resort that was just outside the city of Crocus, and therefor had survived the dragons' attack. In addition to the feast the night before, the King had payed for them all to spend the day there, free of charge, barring any destruction that Natsu inevitably ended up causing.

"Told you it'd work out eventually," Sado smiled.

"It's getting there," Mira smiled. "Any sign of Ur?"

"Oh, I'm sure she'll come gloat," Sado sighed.

He opened his eyes, lifting his head and looking around. The pools, what five there were, were all designed like natural springs, except for the tile floor around them. Some had boulders, one of which Elfman and Evergreen thought they were hiding behind, some were heated, like the one Sado was in, and one even had a small garden-like patch of grass around it. Aside from that, Ryuzetsu land had a massive water slide called the Love-Love Slide, which he failed to see the romance of, and dozens of minibars. One directly to his and Mira's left was currently occupied by Wakaba and Macao, who were staring at Mira in her silver bikini.

"You've got fans," Sado smiled, looking up at Mira.

She smiled, bending down and kissing him, making her breasts press on his head, making them appear bigger. Sado smiled as he saw Wakaba and Macao nearly begin to drool. Then, he grinned even wider, actually turning his head as he spotted Romeo and Wendy sitting by one of the pools, sipping at juice. Mira smiled as she followed his line of sight.

"Good for them," Mira smiled. "I bet he didn't actually ask her out, and is trying to act like it's just them hanging out."

"Probably," Sado chuckled.

He looked the other way to see Aquarius and Virgo in one of the pools, Lucy standing beside it, staring in shock. He laughed.

"Ten bucks says Lucy gets thrown," Sado said pointing.

"Deal," Mira said.

After a short conversation, Aquarius sent Lucy flying. Sado laughed and Mira handed him a bill. He lifted himself out of the water, standing and helping Mira up.

"Let's go try out the water slide," Sado said. "Maybe it'll be fun."

Mira smiled and nodded, the two of them walking away from the pool. As they were, Mira suddenly stopped as her bikini top was ripped off. Sado sighed, turning around to find Jenny standing there, holding it out and grinning.

"Consider this payback for setting me up to lose that bet before," Jenny said.

"That probably wasn't smart," Sado said, taking the bikini top.

"Why's that?" Jenny asked less than a second before Mira yanked her bikini bottoms down, tripping her and slipping it off her feet, leaving Jenny's lower half completely exposed.

Mira began to twirl them around her finger while Sado tied her bikini on for her.

"Come on Mira, be nice to her," Sado said. "Even if you don't win this, she's the one that still has to pose naked for Sorcerer Weekly."

Jenny began to cry and Mira handed her bottoms back.

"Sorry," Mira said. "That was mean. But in all fairness, you _did_ start it."

"I'm sorry," Jenny said, having gotten her bottoms back on, Sado giving her privacy with his flames. "Truce?"

"Sure," Mira smiled.

"Do us a favor, Jenny, and get your boyfriend and his friends to leave Lucy and Erza alone," Sado said, pointing to where Lucy and Erza were trying to tan but had the trimens and Ichiya standing around them.

Jenny sighed, standing. "Sure. I'll handle it."

She walked away and Sado and Mira continued toward the water slide, seeing a fish feeding show where Levy, Gajeel, and Fairy Tail's three exeeds were being attacked by large fish that wanted to eat them rather than the fish food. Sado stopped to watch, wondering how it would go wrong. After Gajeel knocked two of the three fish out and scared the third away, it went wrong by a massive, scarred white fish showing up and swallowing them all.

"Should we help?" Sado asked. "Because I kind of feel like we should help."

"I'm sure they'll be fine," Mira said. "We all survived fighting Dragons, after all."

"True," Sado mused. "Alright then."

He turned away from the show and continued walking, Mira linking their arms. As they reached the top, they found Gray and Lyon arguing about which of them would win in a fight. However, before things could deteriorate into a brawl, Natsu, who was flying through the air for some ungodly reason, crashed into them, knocking both into the water of the slide, before bouncing into the heart around the beginning of the slide. Gray and Lyon began to fall backward, grabbing the only thing close to them, each other. Sado burst out laughing as they fell into the water and were sent speeding down the slide together.

"Oh no!" Juvia said. "He's stolen my lovely Gray!"

"Relax," Sado chuckled. "They just fell in."

Suddenly, the heart Natsu was stuck to broke free and began to fall along the slide like a sort of zip line, Natsu's face keeping him stuck to it as it went. Just then, Lucy arrived, watching as Natsu slid down the slide, smashing into Carla, Panther Lily, Gajeel, and Levy on the way. A moment later, Carla was being held by Panther Lily, and Levy and Gajeel were clinging to each other, both pairs speeding down the slide as well, leaving Happy on the ground. A moment later, Erza and Jellal, who was wearing swimming trunks and Mystogan's cowl and mask, were also hit and left in the side, just behind Natsu's heart-shaped ride, also clinging to each other. Then, the slide shook and Lucy began to fall, grabbing Juvia for balance but accidentally dragging her down with her. Sado laughed and shrugged.

"Shall we?" he asked.

Mira smiled and nodded, wrapping her arms around him as they dropped into the water, speeding off. As they slid, they laughed, watching Naruto hit more and more couples, both actual couples and random pairs of people, into the slide. Sado spotted Elfman and Evergreen and pointed, Mira looking and smiling widely, less than a second before Evergreen petrified Elfman. Mira laughed. It occurred to Sado that the slide hadn't ended yet, and when he looked around, he couldn't actually find the end.

"Um, how long a slide is this?" Sado asked.

Mira merely shrugged, setting her head on his chest. Then, he looked over at Erza and burst out laughing. Mira looked and also laughed. Jellal was doing the best he could to cover her, but Erza's bikini had gotten stuck on the side of the slide and was pulled apart, leaving a mess of yellow thread following them down the slide, and leaving Erza completely naked.

"We really do ruin everything don't we?" Sado laughed.

"Mostly," Mira smiled.

As if on cue, Lyon and Gray tried to fight, ending up simply freezing the entire resort. All of the water froze, stopping everyone and Sado groaned, melting the ice on himself and Mira.

"I'll fix it," Sado said, raising a hand. Before he could, Natsu fell past, flames coating his fist. "Oh shit."

He quickly made a Fire Make shield around them seconds before Natsu punched the ground, the explosion blasting the entire resort into rubble. Sado sighed as he floated himself and Mira to the ground, looking around. Everyone had miraculously escaped injury, but now Fairy Tail would have to pay for the damages.

"Wow," Mira said. "We should have seen that coming."

"Yup," Sado nodded. "Oh well. I'll foot the bill this time. It was fun while it lasted, at least. Come on, let's start digging everyone out."

Anyone who wasn't buried in rubble began to excavate everyone else, and within a couple of minutes, everyone was free. Then, the guards showed up and told Makarov that Fairy Tail would have to pay, Mavis also there.

"Masters, I'll pay for the damage," Sado said.

"You don't have to do that," Mavis smiled.

"It's fine," Sado smiled. "I've got plenty."

She beamed at him, hugging him around the torso, and Sado chuckled, looking around.

"We should probably get back to Magnolia before they arrest us," Sado said.

"Good idea," Makarov nodded. "Time to go everyone!"

"Fairy Tail will be hosting a celebration in Magnolia in a couple days if anyone wants to come!" Sado shouted back at the assembled guilds as he and the rest of Fairy Tail quickly made their escape.

* * *

Leave a review. Just a quick little chapter that I wanted to do.


	81. Chapter 81

I do not own any of the original Fairy Tail characters.

* * *

Questions

Sado sat in silence as he listened to the report. Doranbolt had decided to give them a warning. More devils were dead. And they were getting close to Magnolia now. Besides that, the only thing he had talked about was Cobra returning to prison willingly, talking about hearing something about the gates to the Nether World opening soon. Finally, Doranbolt fell silent, Makarov humming thoughtfully and looking to the others in the room, consisting of the Devil's Claw members, Erza, and Ultear, who had accompanied them back to the guild hall while she finished recovering, after which she would go and meet up with Jellal and Melody again.

"The Gates to the Nether World are Tartaros, the last remaining guild in the Baram Alliance," Sado said. "Rumor has it it's run by nine demons, but that's not the case. Aside from me, there are no demons that would be willing to stoop so low as to be in a guild."

"Still, though," Erza said. "They would have to be incredibly powerful to be known as demons."

"Yes," Sado nodded. "In terms of authority, the Baram Alliance was cut into thirds. But not in terms of power. Tartaros could easily crush both Grimoire Heart and the Oración Seis."

"We'll probably have to fight them alone, too," Laxus said.

"Maybe," Sado nodded. "However, if we do, I'm confident that we can defeat them."

"Now, about the Devil Slayer," Makarov said. "Starting now, any knowledge about this subject is to be kept top secret, and shared with no one outside of this room."

"Understood," they all nodded.

"Sado, is Devil's Claw ready to go to war against him?" Makarov asked.

"Not yet," Sado said. "We still need to get as powerful as possible before then."

"I see," Makarov nodded. "Get them there. We've finally managed to acquire some information about him. Firstly, there are three of them. Secondly, we have reason to believe that the leader of the three possesses a minimum of four types of Devil Slayer Magic."

"And he's still human?" Sado asked.

"We can't be sure of that," Makarov said. "But it's someone from your past, someone that hates you and yet is close enough to know everything about you. We don't know who it is, or where you met them, but we suspect they are likely closer than you are looking."

"Understood," Sado nodded. "Devil's Claw will begin training as soon as possible. Ultear, when you see Jellal again, please warn him that he needs to double his magical power by the end of the month."

Ultear nodded. Then, Sado looked to Makarov, who nodded.

"You're all dismissed," Makarov said. "Doranbolt, please inform us the moment you learn anything else."

"I will," Doranbolt nodded.

Then, he was gone. Sado and the others walked out into the guild hall and Sado sighed, walking to the bar. Most of the others were either on jobs or heading to get one, so the guild hall was pretty empty. He sat down at the bar, reaching over it and picking up a bottle of sake, glancing to the side where Bacchus and Cana were having their millionth drinking competition. Sado sighed. If anyone was a perfect match for Cana, it was Bacchus, so long as he stopped being such a sleaze bag. He took a swig and Mira took the bottle from him, setting it down and giving him a knowing look that left no room for argument or interpretation.

"Sorry," Sado sighed. "I'm just...I'm scared."

"You think I'm not?" Mira asked. "I'm terrified. But I'm not letting you become a drunk."

"I know," he smiled.

Just then, Asuka climbed up into his lap, setting a picture she had drawn on the bar.

"Look look!" Asuka said, pointing. "Isn't it pretty?"

He stared at the scribbled people. It looked like there was a castle on the far left, then several people spread out. One had red spikes around one hand, one had red spikes on both hands, one had a black scribble on its hand and a dress, one had some spiky yellow thing drawn around it, mostly removing it from the picture, and there were several indistinct people. He cocked his head to the side.

"It's lovely," Sado smiled. "Who are they?"

"They're us!" Asuka said. "This is you," she pointed to the person with red spikes on both hands, which he assumed were fire, "this is Pretty Mira," the girl with the black spikes on her hand, "this is Natsu," the other one with red spikes, "this is Mommy..." She went on to point out each one, Sado smiling and listening.

After a moment, Asuka lost track, so she labelled them all in her messy child's handwriting. Sado was actually impressed. She had put all of the guild members, even though Laxus was mostly hidden by the yellow spikes of lightning she had drawn. He smiled.

"That's an amazing picture," Sado smiled. "Keep working at it and you might be better than Reedus soon."

"Wee," Reedus said from off to the side.

Asuka smiled and hugged him, Sado hugging her back before setting her on the ground so she could go play. Before she did, however, she held up the picture.

"It's for you!" she smiled.

He smiled, accepting the gift and Asuka ran off. Sado turned back to the bar, staring at the picture as his smile slowly faded.

"Are you okay?" Mira asked.

"Yeah," Sado said. "Yeah, I'm fine."

Mira remained silent and Sado sighed, standing.

"I'm going to go and see Porlyusica," Sado said. "I've gotta get some more healing lacrima."

Mira nodded and Sado left, walking away from the guild hall in silence. His mind was on a million different things, not least of which was the mystery identity of the Devil Slayer. There were plenty of people that would want him dead for the sins he had committed as a devil. However, he got the feeling that they hated him for his time as a human. Which confused him, since he wasn't sure who would want him dead enough to resort to Devil Slayer Magic, much less knowing him enough to know what he is. He looked up after a while, finding himself at Porlyusica's and knocked, being told to enter.

"What do you want?" Porlyusica asked. "You're not wounded _again_ are you?"

"Not yet," Sado said. "Though, the battle's getting close."

Porlyusica nodded in silence.

"Have you had any time to look into that thing I asked about?" Sado asked.

Porlyusica sighed, seeming to age considerably. "I have. I'm sorry. I haven't found anything to suggest that it's possible. As of right now, for all I know, it's not."

Sado's face fell and he stared at the ground, nodding. "Okay. I also need some more healing lacrima."

Porlyusica nodded, handing him a small leather bag full. "That should get you through the fight, theoretically. Please be careful."

"I will," Sado nodded, bowing. "Thank you for everything. You've always been good to me. I will always appreciate it."

Porlyusica nodded. "I'll let you know when I find something."

Sado nodded, holding no hope that she actually would. He turned, beginning to walk back to the guild hall in silence, mind once again drifting to the Devil Slayer. Something about it was bothering him, he just couldn't put his finger on it. He felt like he should know them, like they should mean something to him other than just the dread of impending inevitable death. That alone terrified him, but he still felt he was missing something. Finally, he reached the guild hall again, sitting down at one of the tables, Michelle walking over instantly.

"Hello!" Michelle greeted with a huge smile. "Would you like anything to eat?"

"Steak," Sado said. "On fire. Kinana can show you how, if they haven't taught you that one yet."

Michelle nodded and walked away, Mira sitting beside him after a moment.

"Did you get them?" Mira asked.

"Enough to last through the fight, hopefully," Sado said. "Now we just need to figure out who it is. And how they know me so well."

"I've been considering that for a while," Mira said. "Really, it would have to be someone that met you _after_ you became human, but also someone able to figure out pretty much everything about you, and who knows what you are."

"And they'd need to be able to find out sensitive information," Sado said. "That's why Master Makarov ordered us to keep it a secret earlier."

Mira nodded in agreement. "Something's been bugging me about it, like, I should know the person, but I just can't quite put my finger on it."

"Same," Sado nodded. "It could be a Dark Guild member. Though how they would get the information I can't imagine. Or it could be someone from before I became human that I don't remember, and who found out I'm still alive and found me."

"The information part still worries me, though," Mira said. "There would have to be a leak somewhere in the guild."

"And they pretty much all know what I am at this point," Sado said, earning a nod. "We'll have to find the leak somehow. Maybe tell everyone in the guild a different story about where I'll be, and see if the Devil Slayer shows up there?"

"That's a good idea, but since we don't know their identity, we wouldn't be able to know for sure if they actually _did_ show up," Mira said.

"True," Sado sighed. "Dammit. I don't want to think about this during my time off."

"Well, your time off is going to involve a lot of training," Mira said. "For both of us."

"That's true," Sado said. "You still need to get used to your Fire She Devil form."

Mira nodded. "Laxus and Ur should be back soon."

"True," Sado said before groaning. "And that's the first time we'll see Ur since she won the bet and spent the last three days at Lamia Scale."

Mira nodded, sighing. "She'll definitely be gloating."

"It's fine," Sado sighed. "I'll just spar with her."

"Be careful you don't give her anything else to gloat about," Mira smiled.

"Thanks for the vote of confidence," Sado grumbled as Michelle set his food in front of him.

"Is there anything else you need?" Michelle asked.

"No, I'm fine, thank you," Sado said.

"Have you seen Sorano around today?" Mira asked.

"She, Lisanna, and Yukino all took a job, I think," Michelle said.

"Lisanna?" Sado blinked.

"Yes, she and Yukino seem to be getting along very well," Michelle said. "Maybe it's because she's the only one who doesn't treat Lisanna like a little sister."

"Fair enough," Sado nodded. "Why'd you ask, anyway?"

"Well, Sorano's Angel Magic packs a real punch," Mira said. "We could probably use that power in Devil's Claw."

"That's true, but the angel motif doesn't really fit the rest of our devil one," Sado said. "We'll see. If we have time we'll probably recruit her."

Mira nodded and Sado ate. Once he was done, they walked outside, leaving the city before Mira transformed into her Fire She Devil form and Sado let his devil parts form. Then, they began to spar, careful to keep their power low enough to avoid unnecessary destruction. Finally, Sado flew high into the air with Mira. Because of the amount of raw power they both possessed in that form, the only real way to train for power was to expend energy. So, with that in mind, Sado began to hover as though he was laying down, extending his hands over his head. Then, he began to launch a jet of white-hot flames straight up into the air, Mira doing the same. Then, both began to push the flames to be hotter, stronger, and more powerful. Sado's rapidly grew hotter until Ultear had to build a ice dome over the city to keep them from baking. Mira, on the other hand, wasn't able to get quite as hot or powerful as Sado. Finally, Sado let his flames end as storm clouds began to form, Mira doing the same after a couple more moments. Below them, the ice shattered, cool wind blowing from under it to the surrounding area, cooling the air. Sado and Mira both flew to the ground and transformed back to normal, walking back toward the city. Sado hadn't burned nearly as much power as he had hoped, nor had he really gotten that much stronger. He would need a better place to train. Mira as well.

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	82. Chapter 82

I do not own any of the original Fairy Tail characters.

* * *

Spirit Problems

Sado turned to the door as it flew open, Yukino sprinting in, Sorano and Lisanna just behind her. Yukino looked worried, and looked around the nearly deserted guildhall quickly before running over to Sado and the others, in this case meaning Mira, Erza, Michelle, and Kinana.

"Where is Lucy?" Yukino asked.

"Lucy?" Sado blinked. "She's on a job."

"Oh no!" Yukino said. "I'm too late. I needed to warn her!"

"About what?" Sado asked. "What's going on?"

"My Celestial Spirits, the zodiacs, they're not responding to my summons," Yukino said.

"They're what?" Erza gasped.

"That doesn't sound good," Mira said. "Are they refusing to help? Or is anything happening at all?"

"No, nothing," Yukino said. "It's as though they're simply ignoring me, or maybe like I can't get through to them.""

"I see," Sado nodded. "Sorano, any problem with your Angel Magic?"

"No," Sorano said. "It seems to be specific to the zodiac spirits. Yukino was able to use her silver keys just fine."

"And there was nothing weird about the spirits?" Sado asked.

"I tried asking the spirit what was going on, but it simply closed its own gate as soon as I did," Yukino said.

"Yeah, that's not suspicious at all," Sado said sarcastically. "Alright. Who have you got again? Libra and Pisces?"

"That's right," Yukino nodded.

"Alright," Sado nodded. "I'm going to contact Lucy, then, if her spirits are acting up as well, I want you to try summoning Pisces again."

Yukino nodded and Sado set a communications lacrima on the table, the orb expanding and Lucy's face appearing.

"Sado!" Lucy shouted. "My zodiacs were ignoring me and now some crazy dominatrix version of Virgo is trying to kill us!"

Sado blinked in surprise for a moment before sighing. "Okay. Tell Natsu to beat her."

"No," Lucy said. "I have to be the one to beat her. I'm the one she made the contract with."

"If you think you can win, then do so," Sado said. "But do it fast. We need to know if it fixes them."

Lucy nodded. However, before she could do anything, a blindingly gold light appeared from somewhere off to the side. Sado turned the orb, the view swiveling around until they saw the source of the light, and eleven silhouettes against it. The light faded and the silhouettes came into view. Aries now had long punk hair, a wool dress, a pair of gold earrings, sunglasses, black wool sleeves up to just above her elbows, and a choker with a chain attached, reaching down one link before two more split off of it, wrapping outward around her torso and disappearing somewhere behind her. Taurus was wearing a suit and a metal cow mask. Gemini had become a pair of human twin children with bright blue hair. One was a girl with an unsure expression, straight shoulder-length hair, and two locks sticking up in the front like antennas, and the other was a boy that had short, messy hair and a cocky smile. Both wore a black robe and had a gold ring floating around them, the boy's saying "Gemi" and the girl's "Mini." Cancer looked similar but with a massive red afro and with his hands and scissors replaced by actual crab claws. Sagittarius was now an actual centaur with long wavy black hair and a muscular human torso. Scorpio, arguably the biggest change in Sado's opinion, was now wearing a black and gold monk's robe with his red hair in a ponytail that looked like a series of orbs, kind of like a scorpion's tail. He also looked a bit younger. Capricorn, the other arguably biggest change, was now a grey-furred goat with a gold suit jacket stretched tight across his stomach and gold pants, standing on his hind legs with his forelegs held behind himself. Aquarius had become a child with a black and white dress, her usual gold circlet, her blue hair in a pair of pigtails, and her usual water jug replaced by a massive golden ewer that she was standing beside and that was as tall as her, her hand resting on the neck. Loke, on the other hand, looked pretty cool in his new form. His hair hair grown out to reach down his back and his ears were more pronounced. In addition to that, he wore black armor with gold on the shoulders, waist, shins, and forearms, with golden teeth-like elbow guards, and a purple cape.

Sado stared at them before his eyes flicked to Yukino's key's, Yukino's doing the same thing.

"Greetings, old master," Sagittarius said.

"Please excuse us for our ill-mannered entrance," Taurus said.

"We weren't planning to beat you up until later," Aquarius said, smiling sweetly.

"She's not right!" Happy said.

"What the hell happened to you all?" Natsu demanded. "And why do you look so different?"

"Perhaps we once took on appearances meant to please you humans, but no more," Loke said.

"Loke?" Lucy gasped. "Is that you?"

"Loke?" Loke snorted. "Is that what you used to call me back when I was one of your pet spirits? Hear me now, I'm done with that name, and I'm done with you."

"Did you really just snap Lucy's love?" Happy gasped. "You've been hitting on her for years!"

"Silence cat!" Leo snapped. "I am Leo the Lion! The Leo that she tamed with a key and a whip is no more! In light of this new reality, I am no longer bound to you. The contract I once signed with you is void. That goes for each of us. We serve ourselves now."

"We moved here to inform you about the termination of our contracts," Taurus said. "We decided to let you see your utter inability to control us yourself."

"Wait a minute, so was that big sea slug attack earlier a part of your plan?" Natsu asked.

"Sure was," Aquarius said. "We wanted to show you that you can't control us to do your dirty work even with those golden keys."

"Can we talk about this?" Lucy asked. "Listen, I know you don't remember making your contracts with me, but you did. And it was because you wanted to. I was never your master, I was your partner. I was your friend! And I still am! It's just that you can't remember!" She began to cry out of frustration.

"Crying," Leo scoffed. "What a pitifully human sight to behold."

"Aquarius!" Lucy pleaded. "You and I have been together since I was just a kid! My whole life. And now you're saying you don't remember anything about me?"

"Honestly you don't look that familiar," Aquarius said. "I've moved on Lady so you should probably try to do the same."

"Times are changing," Sagittarius said.

"Any more questions before we take our leave?" Taurus asked.

"This can't be," Lucy said. "Please, at least try to remember! You've been with me so long! Good times and bad, I was never alone because I had all of you!"

"Think she means it?" Mini asked.

"It matters not," Taurus said. "We've delivered our message. It's not our fault if she refuses to accept it."

"Yeah, humans are dense like that," Aries said.

"Well if the girl won't be convinced by our words," Leo grinned, one hand being engulfed in dark blue and black flames, "let's give her a demonstration. Let's prove our bond is broken."

He held his hand out, and the lacrima's vision began to glow blue. Then, the image faded and Sado stared at it as the Lacrima shrunk. Everyone stared in silence for several long minutes.

"I'm sure they're fine," Sado finally said. "Loke's not strong enough to beat Natsu."

"Can Natsu beat all ten of Lucy's Zodiacs at once?" Yukino asked.

"I'm sure of it," Sado said.

Yukino nodded. Just as she did, golden light began to shine through the windows.

"I guess you're up," Sado said.

Yukino nodded. The two of them walked outside, Erza and Mira stopping at the door. Outside, they found a shark with lipstick and a brown-haired, blue-scaled, shark-human hybrid floating beside a woman with messy green hair, a black body suit with a mask over her eyes, and a pair of golden metal legs ending in spikes.

"That's Libra?" Sado blinked. "Well alright then. Let's beat the crap out of them."

"We're not here for that," Libra said. "We know we can't defeat the Fire Devil. We only came to inform our former master that we are no longer bound to her."

"I see," Yukino nodded. "I _will_ find a way to save you. But, for now, I won't try to stop you."

Both nodded and disappeared in a flash of golden light. Sado sighed, turning to Yukino.

"You sure you're okay with this?" Sado asked.

"It's fine," Yukino said. "Even if we beat them, unless we close the gate, all we'll be doing it hurting them."

Sado nodded. They would have to find a way to do that quickly. He headed back inside, deciding to make a few calls and see what he could find.

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	83. Chapter 83

I do not own any of the original Fairy Tail characters.

* * *

Beginning

Sado stared at the map in silence. He had been there for several hours, simply staring in silence. Something wasn't right. He figured that the Celestial Spirits were most likely changed due to contact with the black magic of the Eclipse Gate, but something simply seemed off. Everyone but himself and Mira had been sent out to try and find a way to stop the celestial spirits. But Sado had remained, staring at the map. It felt like there should be something there. And there was nothing. And it infuriated him. He knew he was missing something big. About the Celestial Spirits, about the Devil Slayer. He knew. But he couldn't tell what.

"Staring at a map isn't going to help," Mira finally said. "Whatever it is you're trying to remember, whatever you're trying to see, the map's not going to help."

"It's so close," Sado murmured. "I can almost see it, almost voice the name. Then it slips away again. I know I'm missing something. I'm not seeing. Maybe because I'm not looking."

"It'll come to you," Mira said. "But you have to give it time."

Sado stared at the map for a few more moments before reaching out, setting a hand against it, fingers trailing over it, as though following some unseen path, before stopping, resting on a mountain region south west of Crocus. He stared at the spot in silence for a long while before letting his hand fall.

"If they really know me..." Sado trailed off before turning to Mira. "I need to talk to Doranbolt. I need to know where the devil's corpses were found."

Mira nodded, following him out of the building just as Doranbolt and Lahar arrived. Sado felt his blood run cold.

"Has it started?" Sado asked.

"No," Doranbolt said. "But three more devils were killed. Last night."

Sado nodded, taking the book with the devils' pictures, skimming through it before turning to the map. "Show me where all of them were killed."

Lahar stepped forward, pulling a file out of his cloak, opening it and beginning to flip through as he marked off places on the map. Sado watched in silence as he worked. Finally, he stepped back and Sado stared at the points.

"It looks random to me," Mira said.

"Go in order," Sado said, taking the marker from Lahar, using his memory of where Lahar placed them to draw.

Once he had finished, he stepped back, dropping the marker and staring at the pentagram drawn around the mountain region he had been staring at before.

"I see it," Sado mumbled. "That son of a bitch."

"What...what is this?" Mira asked.

"It's a spell," Sado said. "The blood of demons, and the blood of a pure maiden. When the maiden is sacrificed in the center of the Devil's Circle, a pentagram made of the blood of devils, the Devil himself shall be summoned."

"Why would he want to do that?" Mira asked. "I don't get it."

"It's not literal," Sado said. "It means you can summon any devil you want, no matter how powerful they are, as long as you prepare right. The Devil Slayer's not going to come to me. He's going to drag me to him and his trap, kicking and screaming."

"Where is this?" Lahar asked.

"It's home," Sado said. "Well, it's the town I woke up in when I first lost my memories, anyway."

"Why there?" Mira asked.

"Thematically appropriate?" Sado guessed. "He wants to end me where my new life began?"

"And why summon you there like this, rather than call you out," Mira asked, sado shaking his head.

"Maybe he's not summoning you," Doranbolt offered. "Maybe the summoning circle is for a different devil. Maybe he's going to summon one there once you arrive?"

"Maybe," Sado mused, reaching out to the mountains again. "What am I missing?"

"Maybe he's already become a Devil?" Lahar offered.

"No," Sado said. "Well, maybe, but that wouldn't account for this. I don't understand. What is it I'm not seeing? It's right there. I know it is."

"It will reveal itself in time," Lahar said.

"I don't think we have time," Sado said. "Are there any active or inactive volcanos here?"

"One," Doranbolt said. "This one. It's an ancient inactive volcano. It's been cold for hundreds of years."

Sado nodded. "This seal doesn't make sense."

"Why?" Lahar asked.

"Because it's too big," Sado said. "You wouldn't need one that size unless you were going t..."

"Going to what?" Mira asked.

"Going to summon every devil still alive," Sado said.

"That's insane," Doranbolt said.

"Why would anyone try that?" Lahar asked. "That much power would be-"

"Completely unstoppable," Sado finished. "And anyone that thought about it would know that."

"What if they're drunk on their power?" Mira asked. "They've been killing devils one by one for a while now. Maybe they think they can handle it."

"No," Sado said. "They're too careful for that."

"Plus they were only killing weak devils, so they can't be that drunk on their power," Lahar added.

"Not all weak," Sado said, turning the page without looking and holding it out to Lahar.

"The Light Devil?" Lahar asked.

"He moved at the speed of light between attacks," Sado said. During an attack, he had to slow down so that he didn't lose control of his power and self-detonate. He was stronger when you told me he died than I am now. It has to be something really really big."

"Or maybe something really really powerful, like the actual devil," Doranbolt said.

"No one's that stupid," Sado said.

"You're assuming," Mira said.

"What if he was trying to summon something else," Lahar said. "Like an angel?"

"The angel would be corrupted," Sado said.

"What if the angel was already corrupted?" Lahar asked.

"That leaves a few options," Sado said. "Baal, Abaddon, Azeal, Azazel, Balam, Lilith, hell, even Ph...Phoenix."

"Phoenix?" Doranbolt asked.

"He's a fallen angel who appears as the fire bird phoenix," Sado said. "It's where the bird got its name. What better a creature to kill me than something from whom my chosen moniker originates, intentionally or otherwise?"

"A few," Lahar said. "What would he need to summon Phoenix?"

"He would need a virgin and a devil," Sado said.

"Where?" Lahar asked.

"The center," Sado said. "Both would have to be killed, preferably outright sacrificed, but killed at all will suffice, at the center in order for the spell to work."

"If, by some miracle, Phoenix is successfully summoned, can you kill him?" Doranbolt asked.

"Not in a million years," Sado said. "As far as demons are concerned, I'm low class. Phoenix is...well...He's something known as a Knight of Hell. He's powerful. Like, burn an entire town to ash by sneezing, powerful."

"Is there any way to beat him?" Lahar asked.

"We could try an exorcism, but that would be...a bit of a scatter shot," Sado said.

"No," Mira said. "You're not being sent to Hell."

Sado nodded and stared at the map again. He still got the feeling he was missing something.

"Have there been any posters about young girls missing lately?" Sado asked.

"No," Mira said. "No missing persons at all for a while."

"And no devils have been taken there either," Sado said.

"How do you know?" Lahar asked.

"It's a devil thing," Sado said. "If a devil was taken from his turf by Devil Hunters but not killed, a sort of...turf war would begin. But more than that, there would be a hunt organized for the lowly human who thought himself so important as to take a devil hostage. Trust me, I'd sense it."

"So we're lowly humans, now?" Lahar asked.

"To any devil other than me?" Sado snorted. "You'd be less important to them than an ant on the ground."

Lahar bristled but nodded. Just then, the door burst open, a woman staggering in with her arm burned horribly. She collapsed and everyone sprinted over, Sado gently lifting her and checking for a pulse. He found one and channeled a little magic into her, waking her.

"What happened?" Sado asked.

"Village...mountain...fire...devils..." the woman, barely conscious, was barely able to form actual words, much less sentences.

"It's them," Sado snarled.

Mira nodded and they stood, walking outside, Doranbolt and Lahar just behind them.

"Tell us what you need," Doranbolt said.

"God," Sado said, forming his Devil traits and extending his wings. "We're going to need God."

Then, they were off.

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	84. Chapter 84

I do not own any of the original Fairy Tail characters.

* * *

Hunters

Sado watched as the town burned. He would be blamed for this. He might as well. This was all to draw him out. He glanced to the side, seeing Mira holding back tears.

"How?" Mira breathed. "How could anyone do this?"

"I've done this," Sado pointed out. "I did this the day Lisanna was sent to Edolas."

"Yours was an accident," Mira said. "You lost control while we were trying to stop the Beast King. This is intentional."

Sado remained silent as he watched the flames. They were going to need help. He pressed two fingers to the Devil's Claw crest, linking to the others and sending them an image of the town and a cry for help. He sensed their responses before he pulled his hand away, watching the flames.

As he watched, the center of the flames turned blue. The Devil Slayer stepped onto a boulder, the boulder rising into the air above the flames. He wore a fitted suit of armor that was mostly black but with white highlights like bones. On his back were a jagged scythe, a bastard sword, and a spiked club, a belt of throwing knives strapped to his right thigh. His dark brown hair was spiked backward and there was a jagged scar across the left side of his face, through his eye. However, both recognized him instantly. This was the man that Sado had walked in on. The same that had nearly cost them their relationship.

"You?" Mira asked.

"Was he a wizard before?" Sado asked, fists clenched in rage.

"No," Mira said. "Or, at least, I didn't think so."

"I knew who you were the moment I saw you that day!" the man thundered. "I spent seven years training myself to be strong enough to wield this magic! Strong enough to destroy you! You and your half-demon whore!"

Sado's eyes narrowed dangerously. No one insulted Mira when he was around and lived to tell about it. Not even Devil Slayers. However, this man, this singular human, had mastered more Devil Slayer Magic than Sado had ever heard of a single human handling. If Sado was going to win this fight, he needed to remain calm. This man was now stronger than anyone Sado had ever faced, short of Acnologia himself.

"How many did you master?" Sado asked. "There's, what, a few dozen, right? So you've got, four? Five?"

"Seven," the man said. "But don't worry. I'm not a Fire Devil Slayer. Nor am I a Shadow or Blood Devil Slayer."

"You're not a..." Sado trailed off before grinning. "Oh I get it. That's why you were angry at the last one for learning them. That's why he said you called it stealing. Because each could only be learned once. Let me guess, knowledge sealing spell, right? Once used, the knowledge disappears from the book and leaves the pages blank?"

"That's right," the man nodded. "Of course, we found a decent work around for it, but by the time we had, I had already reached my cap. As I'm sure you know entirely too well, if a human loses control of their Devil Slayer Magic, they become a devil themselves. The more you have, the harder it becomes to control. Seven is the record, isn't it?"

"It is," Sado nodded. "And an impressive one, at that. However, I doubt you'll last through this fight at that rate."

"We'll see," the man smirked. "I'm pretty good at control."

"Are you?" Sado asked. "Well, that's good for you. But first I have a question. What did you mean you found a workaround?"

"Lacrima," the man said. "You know that Laxus has a Dragon Slayer Lacrima inside of him, yes? Well, we have a Devil Slayer Lacrima."

"We?" Sado asked.

The flames lit up blue once again and then separated, two more people stepping out.

"Even with Lacrima, we can still only handle a handful at best at one time, but we don't have to worry about the information being gone from the book," the man said. "So, allow me to introduce my two students. Our powerhouse, Jack, and our devil analysis specialist, Alex. And my name's Sebastian."

Jack, the man on the left, was heavily muscled, veins sticking out of his arms, a black muscle shirt, black cargo pants, and a pair of black boots. He had black hair hanging around his head in curtains, and had a greatsword on his back. Alex, on the other hand, was entirely lean muscle, but well-toned. He wore a pair of black shorts, fingerless black gloves with leather-reinforced knuckles, no shirt, and no shoes. He held an eight inch survival knife in his right hand in reverse grip and ran a hand over his blonde hair, brushing it backward.

"Jack and Alex both possess Fire Devil Slayer Lacrima, as well as having learned other ones," Sebastian said. "For example, Jack possesses Wind Devil Slayer Magic, Light Devil Slayer Magic, and Metal Devil Slayer Magic. Alex is a bit more selective. He chose Shade, Hale, and Sonic Devil Slayer Magic."

"Sonic?" Sado scoffed. "No way. There's no such thing as a Sonic Devil."

"Try us," Alex invited.

"What do we do?" Mira asked.

"You'll need your full power," Sado said. "Aside from that, survive."

Mira nodded and shifted into her Fire She Devil form, Sado Already having had his devil traits showing. Both Fire Devil Slayers lit their hands on fire, blue flames shooting high into the air. Sado and Mira both inhaled then exhaled, twin jets of pure white flames shooting out of their mouths at the Devil Slayers. The moment they fired, Sado and Mira scattered, blue flames punching through their attacks almost instantly. Sado landed on his feet and leapt off, the ground below him exploding into a massive wall of stones, Sado escaping by blasting the stones into lava. He extended his wings, taking off and found Jack following him, Alex taking of after Mira, who was also trying to get some distance between the three Devil Slayers. Once he was a fair distance away from Mira and Alex, he stopped, turning back to Jack only to find Sebastian hovering beside Jack.

"Don't make the mistake of thinking I'm letting anyone else take my prize," Sebastian smirked. "I'm going to kill you myself. But because I know Jack wants to test himself, he's going to help me fight you."

Sado swallowed hard and held his arms out to his sides, forming a pair of fireballs. "I suppose I don't have much of a choice. If I'm going to have to fight you, I'll have to risk the world. Five thousand seven hundred seventy eight kelvin." He slammed the fireballs together above his head, the fireball growing rapidly, shining pure white as it grew to a sphere double the size of his body. "The temperature of the sun."

The world around him was warped by heat waves, the ground turning to magma, flames exploding to life around them. The flames roared louder and louder as they turned pure white, spiraling around and into the mini-sun Sado was holding, the fireball growing rapidly.

"You think that's going to be enough?" Jack smirked, a miniature sun growing over each hand, both the size of a beach ball but just as hot as Sado's. "Since there's nothing here you can eat, this should be a short fight."

"You think this is an attack?" Sado asked. "No no. This isn't an attack. I'd be a fool to try to attack you with flames this weak. You're stronger than the last Fire Devil Slayer I fought. I could barely fight him by fighting the way I usually do. You're right that I can't eat your flames to make myself stronger. You're also correct that the heat of the sun isn't nearly hot enough to fight you."

"Then what are you doing with that?" Sebastian smirked. "Surely you're not planning to destroy the Earth."

"No," Sado said, looking past the pair at Mira and Alex, who were almost a mile and a half away now. "That should be far enough."

He hurled the fireball into the air, slamming his fist into his palm before ripping them away, a sphere of flame hexagons forming between his hands before he slammed his palms together. Flames began to flicker out of them as he tilted his head back, opening his mouth.

"You can't do that!" Jack shouted. "Eating your own flames is the equivalent of cannibalism! It's poison!"

Sado roared, the sound deafeningly loud before he inhaled, his own flames shooting into his mouth, a roar even louder than Sado's echoing through the air as they did. Then, just as he finished swallowing his flames, he threw his hands out to his sides, the flame sphere from between his hands expanding to fill an area almost a mile wide with several dozen layers. The moment it had formed, sado roared again, in agony this time. His flames sank into his skin, his skin beginning to boil before turning an angry red. Horns burst out of his skin, his fingernails growing into claws. His teeth grew into a mouthful of fangs, his bones broke apart, spikes growing from his knees and elbows, one from the back of each heel, a pair of massive, leathery wings burst out of his back in a spray of boiling blood, and his hair lit on fire.

"What the hell are you?" Jack gaped.

"Your worst nightmare," Sado snarled, voice as deep and loud as a volcanic eruption. "I've only ever had to use my full power one other time. You'll have to forgive me for my lack of control."

Jack hurled his fireballs at Sado, but Sado swiped an arm and they were blown out instantly. Then, Sado appeared in front of Jack, driving his hand through Jack's abdomen, his hand holding Jack's now detached spine behind him. Sado crushed it and let the pieces fall as Jack's upper body crumpled. Then, it burst into flames, burning away into ash instantly. Sado dusted his hand off before coughing into his hand, pulling it away full of blood, which boiled away into a pink mist instantly. Sebastian snarled in rage, hands curling into fists.

"You really are every bit the monster I thought you were," Sebastian snarled. "I wonder, would Mirajane even want to be around you if she saw you like this?"

"No," Sado snarled. "That's why she'll never see it. I'm going to kill you and then save her."

"Will you?" Sebastian smirked. "How?"

Sado held his hands out at his sides, flames exploding off of his hands instantly. Sebastian shouted in pain as his skin began to instantly burn black all over his body, only to heal in under a second just to do it again, his clothes doing the same as his hair remained burned off. Sado shot forward, Sebastian shooting sideways away from Sado, avoiding a punch, then holding a hand out, a jagged, sharpened stone spike shooting out of his hand and burning away into ash before it could reach Sado. Sado spun, roaring and sending a tongue of flame at Sebastian that was too bright to look at. Sebastian dropped instantly, his upper left torso being burned off instantly. Sebastian shrieked in agony, his body regenerating as he roared, a massive wall of stone, frozen air, razor sharp titanium dust, and super-heated water flying out of his mouth at Sado. Sado held a hand out, a sphere of flames forming an blocking the blast completely. Sebastian snarled in rage before smirking.

"What?" Sado growled, letting his flames fade.

"One hundred million two hundred seventy three kelvin," Sebastian said. "Hotter than any star. Hot enough to burn almost any magic away to nothing. Impressive. However, there's one kind of magic even you can't defend against."

"What?" Sado asked.

"Death Devil Slayer Magic," Sebastian said.

Sado's eyes widened just before his entire body went completely numb, falling. He watched blood fill the air above him as he fell. His mind was completely numb. He didn't feel his magic leaving him, he didn't feel the impact, or hear the sound of Sebastian's laughter. He didn't hear anything as Mira crashed to the ground beside him, or feel her shaking him in an attempt to wake him up. He couldn't feel her sobbing on his chest, or hear anything she said. But he could see her. And he could see Sebastian and Alex above her, both laughing as Alex extended a hand and formed a sphere of compressed sound waves as Sebastian formed a sphere of glowing golden energy. Sado felt his gut drop as both spheres fired at Mira.

Sado tried to move but couldn't. He didn't understand. He wasn't immune to Death Devil Slayer Magic. So how was he still alive? And yet, if he was alive, why couldn't he feel or move? The spheres descended rapidly. Mira didn't notice them, or didn't care. Fear flooded him and Sado found himself standing over her, his back erupting into pain. Mira stared up at him in awe as Sado staggered back a couple of steps, trying desperately to tap into his magic, but he couldn't find it.

"Are you okay?" Mira asked.

Sado dropped to the ground, blood splattering over it instantly. Mira screamed in fear, catching him as he tipped sideways. He stared up at her as he felt his body growing numb again.

"You survived Death Devil Slayer Magic, did you?" Sebastian asked. "Impressive. But now you'll die. Here, I'll even give you a second helping of Death Devil Slayer Magic."

He held his hand out and Mira stared up at him in confusion as a sphere of dark-grey-tinted air formed in front of his hand. Then, it fired at Sado and Mira. She didn't react, however. She didn't seem to see it. Sado tried to lift a hand, but his body felt so heavy. Then, a pair of hands grabbed both of them, moving them out of the way of the sphere, which hit the ground and expanded, a circle of the ground breaking apart into what looked like dead skin, then broke apart further into oblivion. Finally it stopped, forming a perfect crater. Mira stared at it in shock as Sado stared up at the man that had saved them. Jellal.

"You saw it?" Sado croaked.

"It's reminiscent of Zeref's power," Jellal said. "I can more sense it than see it. You can see it?"

"I was already hit with it once," Sado said. "I guess that lets me see it."

Jellal nodded, rolling Sado onto his stomach before his set his hands on Sado's back, golden light shining from them as pain arced across Sado's body, earning a scream.

"I don't sense any magic from you," Jellal said. "Your back's healed but...I think your power is gone."

"It is," Sado said, standing. "Earlier, I used a power that's forbidden even to devils. It comes at a price."

"So now you're powerless?" Jellal asked.

"The last time I used it, I lost my powers for twenty years," Sado said. "I don't know if I'll be getting them back sooner this time, but for now, you need to be careful. Alex is able to use four types of Devil Slayer Magic. Sebastian, the one that just attacked us, can use five, including Heavenly Body Devil Slayer."

Jellal nodded just as a bolt of lightning crashed to the ground beside them and left Laxus standing there. Then, an ice dragon landed on the other side, Ur dropping off of it.

"Sado, what happened to you?" Ur asked.

"Long story," Sado said. "I'm not strong enough to help anymore. Be careful. The one on the right is Alex. He has Sonic, Shade, Hale, and Fire Devil Slayer Magic. Sebastian, the stronger one, has Stone, Water, Ice, Lightning, Titanium, Heavenly Body, and Death Devil Slayer Magic."

"Jesus," Laxus breathed. "Jack of all goddamn traits much?"

"Rest," Ur said. "We'll handle him."

Sado nodded as she formed herself a pair of Ice Wings, shooting into the air with Jellal, Laxus following using his lightning. Sado coughed, blood splattering across the ground before sighing.

"Are you okay?" Mira asked.

"Yeah," Sado nodded. "The power I used is just really hard on my body." He coughed again, only getting a few droplets this time.

He glanced to the side and stopped, staring at Mira's necklace. There was a piece of his flame inside of the lacrima, which meant it would have some of his magic with it. It wouldn't be enough to get his powers back, though. Only enough to burn him to death. He sighed before looking up at the others. Sebastian was allowing Alex to fight, watching him almost proudly. And for good reason. Ur was firing off every ranged and melee Ice Make spell she knew, Alex blasting all of it with his flames. At the same time, he was avoiding Jellal's lightning-quick strikes and magic blasts and anything and everything Laxus tried to throw. They couldn't touch him, except for when he would hit them. Sado's eyes widened. That was exactly how they would have to fight him, despite what a costly strategy it would be. Before he could tell them, however, Jellal stopped moving, a massive sphere of black magic energy with tiny white specs beginning to form in front of himself. Alex didn't miss a beat and shot toward him in a blur. However, just as he got beside Jellal, Jellal grinned.

"Now!" Jellal shouted.

"Lightning Dragon Roar!" Laxus shouted, firing the blast directly at Jellal's spell.

"Ice Make Cannon!" Ur shouted, forming a bazooka taller than she was and attacking Jellal's spell as well.

A moment later, the spell exploded, sending Alex spinning through the air, badly burned, Jellal falling straight down for a hundred feet before flipping and catching himself, panting but unharmed. Alex flipped, righting himself only for Laxus to appear behind him.

"Dragon Slayer Secret Art, Roaring Thunder!" Laxus shouted.

Unlike when he had used that spell to beat Jura, this time, he slammed his fist directly into Alex's pack, lightning exploding out of Alex's chest in a spray of blood. Then, as he began to fall, Ur formed a massive Ice Scythe, streaking up at him from below and spinning. He roared, sending a blast of flame out and smashing the scythe, only for Ur to instantly form a pair of swords and split him into fourths in a single slash with each. As Alex's remains fell, Sebastian growled in irritation, turning to the three of them, lightning erupting around his hands, the lightning blood red.

"They can't beat him," Sado breathed, watching as visible magic energy exploded off of Sebastian in a column, nearly obscuring him from view.

"What do we do?" Mira asked.

He looked to her before remembering her trying to teach him Takeover Magic. He looked to her necklace again. It wasn't enough. But she was, as long as he ingested the fire from the necklace first.

"I need your necklace," Sado said, Mira ripping it off and handing him the lacrima without question. "I also have to use Takeover Magic on you while you're in your Fire She Devil form, while this flame is burning me from the inside out."

Mira's eyes widened and her face contorted with worry. "You never mastered Takeover Magic. Will you be able to do it?"

Sado looked up as Sebastian flipped over Laxus's fist, smashing a pair of titanium-plated fists into his back, then flipped, roaring and blasting Ur with a blast of Lightning and stones, sending her crashing to the ground. "I don't have a choice."

He shoved the lacrima into his mouth, biting down and instantly swallowing just as the flames began to burn him. He screamed in agony, Mira grabbing his hands. He felt the trickle of what little magic the necklace had allowed him and focused, purple light enveloping him. The flames spread, reaching back up his throat and beginning to lick out between his clenched teeth. Then, finally, the purple light fade and the flames went out. Sado collapsed, spasming before falling still.

"Sado!" Mira screamed, grabbing him by the head, feeling for a pulse. "Please! Wake up!"

After a moment, he coughed, pulling one of the healing lacrima and putting it in his mouth, biting down with his melted teeth until it broke, then swallowing. He gagged, but after a moment, pain flared through him as his body regenerated. Then, he pushed himself up.

"Did it work?" Mira asked.

Sado stared at his hands for a moment before smiling, flames bursting to life on them. "Yes. And my second origin is still open."

"Good," Mira nodded. "I'll get the others a healing Lacrima if you can keep Sebastian busy."

"With pleasure," Sado grinned, flying into the air, stopping level with Sebastian, the others all dropping down to Mira.

"So you got your magic back already huh?" Sebastian asked. "Well you're too late."

He held his hand out, the ground breaking apart and allowing a dozen young children, the oldest probably eight, to rise into the air, impaled on stone spikes.

"What have you done?" Sado snarled before realization struck.

He looked around. The ground was now entirely obsidian from his power earlier melting it into magma, and the mountain beside them was the inactive volcano. And when Sado had been hit before, that had been all he needed for the devil sacrifice, even though Sado was still alive. He wasn't even sure he was a Fire Devil anymore. Hope flared in his chest but he ignored it, letting his devil traits form, reaching up to his horns. Then, he sighed, glancing at the children before flames exploded out of his hands and hundreds of feet into the air. Phoenix would be there soon. He needed to be done with Sebastian by then.

"No Fire Devil Slayers left now," Sado snarled as blood red light began to shine from the horizon all the way around.

"It's begun," Sebastian grinned.

"Don't care," Sado snarled. "Be ready to die."

Sebastian roared, sending a blast of all of his Devil Slayer elements except Death at Sado, who roared and sent a jet of painfully bright flames back, the two blasts meeting and exploding. Sado streaked through the air over the explosion, reaching Sebastian just in time for his fist to explode into a giant stone fist over Sebastian's right arm. The impact caused an explosion that hurled Sebastian backward, Sado holding out both hands and sending white flames flying after him. Sebastian flipped, lightning encasing his body as he shot out of the way. Before he could get anywhere, however, Sado appeared beside him, fist blasting into his side. Sebastian flew away, crashing to the ground and flipping to his feet, glaring at Sado before grinning, floating into the air again as the ground began to crack, orangish yellow light flickering from underneath.

"Do you feel it?" Sebastian asked, the others all flying into the air as well. "The Gate is opening."

"I know," Sado said, voice dropping rapidly. "I can feel it. All devils can naturally sense the Gate to Hell opening. But now, you've fucked up."

"Why's that?" Sebastian asked.

"Because once it is," Sado said, "any devils nearby get a ten-times power up."

"They what!?" Sebastian gaped.

Sado exploded forward, fist blasting into Sebastian's gut and blasting him backward. Sebastian flipped, roaring and sending all seven elements at him as one. Sado smirked as the blast shot toward him, extending a hand, flames exploding out of his hand in a beam, slamming into the blast, even holding his Death Devil Slayer Magic back. The beam, however, wasn't throwing off heat, allowing the others to fly up beside Sado, holding out their hands. Sebastian shoved both hands forward, two more blasts flying out of his hands, twisting together with his first blast, only for the others to all add their power to Sado's, Laxus with a Lightning Dragon roar, Mira with a blast of her own flames as powerful as she could get it, Jellal with a beam of golden energy, and Ur with a continuously firing Ice Make Cannon. Sebastian roared louder, pushing as much power as he could into the blast and Sado held his other hand out, adding a beam from that one as well, their combined blast beginning to push Sebastian's back.

"Enough of this charade," Sado said. "Just die!"

He exhaled a jet of pure white flames that blasted straight through Sebastian's blast and engulfed him instantly, Sebastian screaming in agony, his blast and theirs all exploding and ending, leaving Sebastian floating there, covered in pure white flames. He screamed again before Sado placed his fist against his hand then pulled it away, forming a bow with a single arrow, drawing the bow. Then, he let go, the arrow streaking through the air and punching through Sebastian's head, the flames being blown out and Sebastian dropping, crashing to the ground, fracturing it even more than the Gate of Hell had.

"Can you close the gate?" Jellal asked.

"No," Sado said just as the top of the inactive volcano exploded. "It's too late."

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	85. Chapter 85

I do not own any of the original Fairy Tail characters.

* * *

Phoenix

"It's too late."

A shrill, piercing shriek filled the air as lava and stone exploded skyward, a massive bird made out of flames rising out of the remains of the mountain, shrieking again. It was massive, about the size of Motherglare, with a long neck ending in a glowing flame beak, a pair of massive flaming wings, a pair of flaming bird feet, and a tail of flames fanning out behind it.

"It's massive," Mira breathed.

"I can feel that thing's power from here," Jellal breathed, all of them, including Mira, seeming to be struggling to stay standing under the weight of its oppressive Magical Energy.

"Stay here," Sado said. "All of you. I'm the only one who can last more than thirty seconds."

"You're not fighting it alone," Mira said.

"Don't worry," Sado said. "He's not the only phoenix."

Then, he turned, roaring and blasting forward as flames exploded off of him, flooding outward into a phoenix body of his own, just as massive as Phoenix was, but a lighter color. Sado's phoenix was a light yellowish orange. Phoenix was a dark orange that bordered on red. Sado flew forward, blasting into Phoenix hard, tackling it to the ground. Just as soon as they hit, Phoenix flipped, squirming out from under him. Sado turned and Phoenix's wing crashed into his head, blasting him into the ground again. Phoenix's feet grabbed him, the talons digging in and Sado's phoenix shrieked, driving its suddenly much longer beak into Phoenix, earning a pained cry of its own. Then, Sado slipped, flying around Phoenix, exhaling pure white flames onto it that heated the air around Mira and the others, melting the ground. Phoenix shrieked, taking off and looping around, blasting into Sado.

As it was shooting toward the lava, Sado's Phoenix exploded, Sado flipping over Phoenix before forming a huge fireball as Phoenix crashed into the lava. Then, he slammed the fireball into Phoenix, the explosion sending him flying, only for Phoenix to appear out of the smoke. He shot sideways away from the demon, reforming his own phoenix before looping around, both of them crashing headlong into each other with a thunderous crash, their talons tearing into each other's abdomens. Sado's Phoenix's head split open into a mouth lined with jagged teeth, which clamped shut around Phoenix's neck, Sado flipping to swing Phoenix around and smash him into the ground. Phoenix rolled, slamming a wing into Sado's head, snapping it sideways and making him crash to the ground. Phoenix was on him instantly, tearing, pecking, ripping, and smashing its wings into him.

Finally, Sado's own head swung around, smashing into Phoenix's, knocking him off. Then, it was Sado's turn. Sado extended his beak a bit, driving it down through Phoenix's chest, then his neck, then through both wings, holding them in place. Phoenix shrieked in pain and rage, snapping at Sado's neck but not quite being able to reach. Sado's talons went to work, Phoenix shrieking in pain, clawing back and managing to reach Sado with his talons, but Sado kept at it. Finally, Sado ripped his beak loose. Phoenix lunged instantly, crashing headlong into Sado's chest, knocking him off before taking flight. Sado rolled following him. However, just as he drove his beak at Phoenix's back, Phoenix flipped, getting out of the way before crashing down on Sado's back, blasting him into the ground and stabbing its own elongated beak into Sado's back several times before taking off again. Sado's phoenix faded as Mira landed beside him, seeing the extensive damage Phoenix had done. All of the damage done to Sado's phoenix form had been replicated on Sado's body.

"Let me help!" Mira said. "Please."

Sado smiled and nodded, allowing her to help him stand before looking up at Phoenix. "Honestly, I expected him to be stronger."

"Can you win?" Mira asked. "Maybe you could eat my flames to-"

"No," Sado said. "Your flames are actually mine. Your form is me."

"With breasts," Mira smirked.

Sado chuckled and nodded as the others landed around them.

"One more strike?" Laxus asked. "The biggest Phoenix Flight you've ever done?"

"Yeah," Sado nodded. "And you're all going to help me with the power."

The others nodded just as Phoenix shrieked, a jet of blood-red flames shooting down at them. Sado roared, his own flames shooting upward, along with Mira's, Laxus's lightning, Jellal's magic, and a blast of snow and frozen air from Ur. The blasts spiraled together then exploded against Phoenix's flames, stopping them.

"Now!" Sado shouted.

He held his hands out, flames exploding off of him, wrapping around the others before expanding outward, everyone adding their magic. The resulting phoenix had a mostly white body from Sado's flames as strong as he could make them with the feathers near the end fading first to the orange of Mira's flames, then to golden energy from Jellal. The feet and talons were ice, as was the beak, and lightning was racing over the entire shroud.

"Phoenix Flight!" they all yelled, the phoenix exploding off of the ground and streaking through the air.

Phoenix shrieked loudly, flames shooting downward to attack them, but the flames simply parted around the oncoming bird. Phoenix flipped, flapping its wings and shooting downward to meet them. As they drew near, all five wizards shouted with effort, pouring all of their energy into the spell, the lightning and Jellal's magic condensing in front of the phoenix's head. Then, the spell met Phoenix and exploded, the explosion blasting a gaping crater into the ground below them, leveling three mountains and leaving a bowl-like landmark in their place, nearly a half-mile deep. Sado's phoenix faded, the five mages beginning to fall until he caught them, being the only one with enough energy left to move, and set them on the ground, looking up into the sky where Phoenix was still hovering. It shrieked victoriously, only to fall silent partway through and begin to fall. Sado grabbed everyone, flying out of the crater ad Phoenix crashed down on the side, rolling to the bottom, breaking both wings and legs. Sado set the others down on top of a nearby mountain, channeling his magic energy, what little remained, into Jellal.

"I'm getting really tired of him," Sado said. "But I'm too tired for my flames to hurt him."

"I know just the spell to take him out," Jellal said, shifting his position to hold his left hand pointing two fingers at his right foot, and his right hand reaching back, pointing two fingers at the sky.

Dark purple clouds began to spiral above them, blindingly white lightning flashed across the sky, and finally the clouds opened, a meteorite falling, flames covering it as it began to burn up in the atmosphere. Phoenix shrieked loudly, trying to move only to flop back to the ground, Sado smirking and stepping forward.

"Good riddance Phoenix," Sado said. "If you wind up back in Hell, tell the Devil I said hey."

"We're too...close to the...blast," Jellal panted, collapsing to his hands and knees.

"I'll handle that," Sado said, slowly pushing himself to his feet. "Explosions are fire."

The meteor crashed down on Phoenix, Phoenix shrieking for half a second before it was cut short. All sound seemed to cease as the meteor impacted. A wall of flames rushed toward them and Sado opened his mouth wide, the flames spiraling into a stream, flooding into his mouth, his own flames exploding to life, reaching high into the air. Mira began to inhale some of the fire as well, Sado forming a Fire Make Shield around them just before the actual concussion hit, the concussion blasting the shield apart but leaving them unharmed. Then, finally, the flames were gone and Sado and Mira sighed, both gasping for breath. Sado stared into the crater where Phoenix lay below the giant stone, head, wings, and the tip of its tail still exposed. It flames flickered for a few more seconds before slowly dying down, leaving a bird covered in orange feathers with a golden beak. Then, slowly, the bird began to melt, the feathers slipping free as the flesh melted off of its bones, leaving the skeleton behind, bones shattered and crushed and falling away from each other.

Sado sighed, falling onto his ass, sitting there for a moment before beginning to laugh, tears running down his face. He fall onto his back as Mira sat beside him, slipping her hand into his, tears of her own falling down her face, Mira once again in her human form.

"What's with you?" Laxus asked.

"It's finally over," Sado smiled, managing to stop laughing. "All this time is was like a cloud hovering overhead, always demanding to be noticed and always dragging down the mood, and now it's finally over."

"At last," Mira smiled, wiping her eyes. "Thank you all so much! We owe you everything!"

"You don't owe me anything," Jellal said. "I merely did what was right. And now I get to call myself a Devil Slayer."

Sado laughed, shaking his head. "You want to try slaying devils, the next one I'm supposed to fight is all yours." He looked down at his torso, his ruined jacket and shirt hanging off of him in ribbons, his wounds healed. "Seriously, though. Thank you. All of you. We couldn't have done it without you."

"You're welcome," Ur smiled.

"So what now?" Laxus asked. "Now that that guy's history, what do we do about Devil's Claw?"

"I'm officially disbanding it," Sado said. "You can all keep the crests. They'll come in handy if any of us ever needs help. But as of this moment, Devil's Claw is officially ended."

Laxus nodded. "Since you two got to refill your magic, care to fly us the hell out of here?"

"Sure," Sado nodded, standing, suddenly feeling as though he were as light as air.

Having the Devil Slayers removed from his inevitable future felt like a million pounds had been lifted off of him. He extended his wings and formed his devil hands, picking up Laxus and Ur, allowing Mira in her first She Devil form to carry Jellal. They dropped Jellal off a little ways from Magnolia, Jellal saying he could find Melody on his own. Then, they flew back to the guild hall with Laxus and Ur, setting the two of them down and helping them to the infirmary, where they'd be resting until they got their strength back. Sado sighed, sitting in a chair off to the side, Mira sitting in his lap and yawning.

"Sado," Ur said after several minutes, voice and face completely serious. "There's still something we need to discuss."

"What?" Sado asked.

"When you take the pictures you owe me, make sure nothing's covered up," Ur said, grinning widely, Sado groaning and resting his face in his hands. "I want to be able to see everything."

"I hate you," Sado grumbled. "I would ask you to teach me to combine my Devil Magic with my Fire Make Magic, but I guess in a way I kind of figured that out on my own, huh?"

"You did," Ur nodded. "And I'm very impressed with you. You're probably the most receptive student I've ever trained."

"Normally I would say that that's Lyon, but I suppose it would have to be the other way around," Sado said. "And if he _is_ receptive, I definitely do _not_ want to hear about it."

Ur laughed, shaking her head. "You're worse than I am. Anyway, you two should probably rest. Then see if you can help the others with the zodiac problem."

Sado nodded, standing and lifting Mira into his arms. Then, he walked out of the guild hall and to her house, carrying her into the room they shared and tucking her into bed, climbing in beside her, both falling asleep without another thought.

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	86. Chapter 86

I do not own any of the original Fairy Tail characters.

* * *

Keys

Sado walked through the fog in silence. Mira had gone on ahead when they left the guild hall while he stayed back to report to Makarov, Mavis, Doranbolt, and Lahar about what had happened. Then, Sado had followed Warren's directions to here. Now, however, he couldn't seem to sense the others, yet couldn't reach Warren either. He sighed, walking along the path in silence, hoping he'd reach the right place. Finally, he stepped out of the fog and into a sort of pocket dimension, if he had to guess. He was in a realm with a ring decorated with the golden symbols of the twelve zodiacs, with twelve golden doors with matching symbols around the seemingly floating floor, the doors each open and a blinding white light shining through.

"I take it I'm in the right place," Sado said, spotting Hisui and Arcadios off to one side.

Both turned to him and smiled.

"Sado!" Hisui gasped. "Thank goodness you're here!"

"Has the fighting started?" Sado asked.

"They're not all fights," Hisui said. "But yes, we've begun trying to stop the spirits. Each of the groups holds a key that will force the gate of their chosen Zodiac closed, but only after the zodiac has lost the will to fight."

"Who's facing who?" Sado asked.

"Natsu is currently facing Leo, however, there was a blast of unknown magic and it shorted out the magic screen viewing them," Arcadios said. "Elfman has defeated Taurus, Mirajane is facing Pisces, Erza is in what seems to be a skill contest with Sagittarius, Lucy is struggling to face Virgo, Wendy is against Aquarius, who...seems to want someone to play with, Yukino and Lisanna are up against Libra, Cana is...playing some weird card game about summoning fake monsters to attack each other's monsters, or each other, Gray Fullbuster is...having a dance off with Cancer-"

"Oh now this, I've got to see!" Sado said, walking over to the screen showing Gray and Cancer dancing in a disco-style club. "Oh yeah, I'm so blackmailing you Gray." He tossed a miniature recording lacrima into the air in front of the screen where it began to record Gray and Cancer. "Anyway, where were we?"

"Uh...yes," Hisui nodded. "Levy is currently in a gameshow-style quiz against Capricorn, Juvia is up against Aries in the desert, however, there's currently no sign of Aries, and Gajeel and Panther Lily are fighting against Gemini."

"Right," Sado nodded. "Well, I know Lisanna and Yukino are safe."

"But, without her zodiacs, isn't Yukino at a severe disadvantage?" Hisui asked.

"Probably, yes," Sado said. "However, ever since she joined Fairy Tail, she's been having me train her in hand-to-hand combat. And Lisanna's no pushover either. Juvia's probably in the most danger, so I'll head there. You said Aries, right?"

"Yes," Hisui nodded.

He stepped up to the door, then formed a Fire Make rope, tying himself off and tossing the other end to Hisui. "When I tug on this, pull it back. It'll bring Juvia with it. In a desert, she'll die within hours."

Hisui nodded and Sado walked through the portal, finding Juvia a few hundred meters away.

"Juvia!" Sado called out, the Water Magic user turning to look at him. "Come here!"

She began to make her way over and Sado waited until she had reached him, tying her off, then tugging the rope.

"When the lacrima watching Gray finishes recording, hold onto it for me," Sado said.

"Wait, why-" but then the rope yanked and Juvia flew backward, disappearing into a small circle of light, which blinked out once it was no longer obstructed.

"Alright Aries!" Sado called out, kneeling and picking up the silver key Juvia had dropped. "Come on out so I can fix you and you can help me save your boyfriend Leo!"

"He's not my boyfriend," Aries said, rising from the sand behind him. "I can't stand that prick. I wish he'd just die."

"Man, you _did_ change," Sado sighed. "I didn't think anything could make your feelings for Leo change. You were so in love with him before you almost tried to get him with Lucy just so he'd be happy. Of course, you're the one he really wanted to be with, so that worked out pretty well."

"You're lying!" Aries shouted. "I would _never_ want to be with that asshole!"

"Sure I am," Sado snorted. "Shall we?"

Aries smirked, dropping to the ground and then sinking into it. Sado rolled his eyes.

"Oh sorry, I didn't realize I was fighting Virgo," Sado said. "Jeez, this is about to be trouble."

Just then, he heard an engine roar to life behind him and spun just as Aries' collar clicked shut around his neck, the chain now attached to the back of a Magic Mobile, which was speeding away. Sado's eyes twitched and he sighed irritably before being yanked off his feet, bouncing and dragging along the ground. Finally, as he bounced off the top of his hundredth sand dune, he flipped, gripping the chain.

"Alright enough of this!" Sado snarled, landing on the next sand dune on his feet and yanking the chain.

The Magic Mobile jerked to a stop, Aries flying off. Then, Sado swung it, smashing it into the ground and ripping the collar off, walking over to Aries.

"Aries, enough," Sado said. "Just let me save you. Just let me help you."

"I don't want your help!" Aries shouted. "I'm just fine!"

Sado sighed. "I really didn't want to do this. I actually kind of like your personality this way. But you're much, much better as Loke's girlfriend. And I'm going to save you whether you like it or not."

He grabbed her by the throat, spinning in a blur, Aries screaming before he finally stopped, Aries trying to stand for a moment before falling to her knees. He held the key up, cocking his head. He wasn't really sure how to use it. Finally, Aries chuckled.

"You didn't come as prepared as you thought," Aries said. "Was what you said before true? Were me and Leo really together?"

"Yes," Sado nodded. "It was the happiest I'd ever seen either of you."

Aries smiled sadly before reaching up to the key. "All you have to do is tap the spirit with it." The moment she touched the key, she shone gold and began to fade. "Save him."

Then, she was gone. Sado sighed, looking around. He had literally no idea where to go. However, before long, he heard running water and turned, seeing a small circle of light, water pouring out of it like a faucet. He jogged over, pushing the edges of the light open further and climbing through, ending up in the same room again, Juvia's face flushed but a huge grin on her face as she ended the flow of water and held out his lacrima. He grinned, accepting it.

"Was it worth it?" Sado asked.

"Completely," Juvia grinned.

Sado smiled and nodded. "Right. Loke's next."

He turned, walking through Leo's door and found himself in a clearing with ancient Mayan or Aztec-style pyramids. Just as he arrived, he spotted Natsu, Wendy, Happy, and Carla walking into one of them. He jogged after them, catching up just as Natsu blasted a wall, revealing a passageway.

"Really now Natsu, you need to quit breaking things," Sado said. "This place might be unstable."

"Sado!" Wendy smiled. "You're finally here!"

"Yeah," Sado nodded. "I just finished up with Aries. Sorry. I'd have been here sooner if I could have."

"It's fine," Natsu said. "Leo's mine anyway."

Sado nodded and they walked into the tunnel. Soon, however, the ancient grey stones gave way to cracked, spiraling reddish pink stone. Sado looked around at it, finally stopping. The others stopped as well.

"This isn't Leo's world," Sado said.

"You're right," a feminine voice said from further along the path. "It's mine."

They all dove aside as glowing thermometers stabbed into the ground, the light fading.

"Thermometers?" Sado blinked. "What zodiac is a freaking nurse?"

He turned to look, staring at the woman. She had mint green hair in a ponytail with bangs framing her face and a matching, skimpy, green nurse's uniform. Sado cocked an eyebrow.

"Who the hell are you?" Sado asked. "You're not one of the twelve."

"No," the woman said. "I'm Ophiuchus."

"Ophiuchus is a girl?" Sado gaped.

"Who's O...O..."

"Ophiuchus is the thirteenth zodiac," Sado said. "Yukino has the key. It's called the snake charmer, but really it's just this giant black snake. You probably saw it during the Grand Magic Games."

"Oh yeah," Natsu said. "Geez, talk about a huge change."

Sado nodded.

"Enough talk," Ophiuchus said. "Time for your checkup!"

She hurled more thermometers, and they all dodged them. Then, she scribbled on a clipboard and stethoscopes surged out of the walls at them, all of them barely avoiding them.

"What kinda freaky place is this?" Natsu asked.

"This is my world," Ophiuchus said. "And in my world, anything I want can happen. Like this!"

Sado's eye twitched as Ophiuchus rapidly wrote on a clipboard, more stethoscopes flying toward them rapidly. Wendy, Carla, and Happy were bound instantly, but when they neared Sado, his flames erupted to life, burning them away before they could reach him. Ophiuchus glared at him loathingly.

"Glare at me all you want," Sado said. "Nothing you can throw at me will reach. Oh, and for the record, I hate annoying nurses. Mira's much better at it and looks much better as a nurse than you."

Ophiuchus shrieked in rage, disgust, and annoyance. "I'm not trying to please you asshole!" She swiped a hand, hurling dozens of thermometers, but they also burned away. She hurled bandaids with the same result. Finally, she grabbed her giant syringe, lunging forward and stabbing at him with it.

He caught the needle, bending it into a "U" before yanking it away from her. He then promptly swung it around, slamming it into her like a bat, sending her flying backward down the tunnel, the stethoscopes falling off of the others. "Never said you were. I just don't like you. Your snake form was much more terrifying."

"Nice one!" Natsu grinned.

"Stay back," Sado said. "Ophiuchus is the strongest Celestial Spirit, even above Leo. Only the Celestial Spirit King is stronger."

"I'm going to make you pay for that!" Ophiuchus snarled, another syringe appearing in her hands, this one filled with a purple liquid.

She shoved the plunger, a spray of the fluid flying at them, crashing into Sado's Fire Make Shield before exploding, blasting the shield. At the same time, three hovering machines like balls but with three holes of jagged medical-type blades sticking out flew out of the tunnel behind her, stopping around her.

"Yeah...no," Sado said, swiping a hand.

Flames filled the tunnel, shooting forward and forced Ophiuchus to leap backward, the three machines exploding. Ophiuchus shouted in rage, an operating table rising out of the ground, straps shooting out and catching Carla and Wendy. Before they were even partway back, Sado caught up to them, wings extended, and slashed the straps with a Fire Make Sword, before splitting the table in half and circling back around, landing beside the others again.

"Enough," Sado said. "It's over Ophiuchus. My next move will be to finish you and seal your gate."

"We'll see about-"

"That's enough, Ophiuchus," Leo spoke up, stepping out of the shadows. "The ceremony will soon be completed. There is not necessary for you to keep them occupied any longer, so you may go now."

"Understood sir," Ophiuchus bowed. "I'll take my leave then."

"It's almost complete is it?" Sado asked.

"Your friends are being kicked back into the Spirit World, and you can't perform the Liberum without them!" Happy said.

"Wrong," Sado said. "The Liberum requires that they be near the globe. But if the globe happens to be in the Spirit World..."

"Then we're doing their job for them!" Wendy gasped.

"You surprise me, Sado," Leo said. "You're actually very smart. I had hoped to have finished the ritual before you were finished with the Devil Slayer, but I suppose I'll have to finish it as is."

"Excuse me?" Sado snarled. "You _knew_?"

Leo laughed as the tunnel around them broke apart, leaving them in a barren wasteland made of dark stone, stone spikes, and a dark sky above. "Ophiuchus! The time has come to reveal your true form!"

"But that means..." Wendy stopped as the ground began to shake.

A massive red and black centipede-looking creature rose from behind several spikes, a golden circle on top of its head with a glowing white orb floating in the center, Ophiuchus's nurse form halfway grown from the front of the head where there would otherwise be a face. Sado cocked his head to the side.

"The Snake Charmer is an absolutely vital part of the Zodiacs," Ophiuchus said. "So it is natural that my true form be every bit as majestic and beautiful as that would entail. In fact, the very place known as the Astral Spiritus is actually located inside of my very body. Everything that had taken place up until now has taken place within me. It was all a trap to lure you in."

"And now we can perform the Liberum, which will free us from the Human World once and for all," Leo said, a glowing sphere, probably the Celestial Globe, hovering over his palm. "There is nothing you can do to stop us!"

"Oh Celestial Spirit King, I will not fail you!" Ophiuchus said.

Leo lifted the Celestial Globe, which floated into the air, stopping high above them and beginning to shine. As it did, nine constellations appeared in the sky overhead, nine of the Zodiac Spirits that had been defeated.

"Nine," Sado said. "Wonder who's still fighting."

"Admiring you handiwork?" Leo asked. "Those constellations belong to the Eclipsed Spirits who were defeated by your comrades. Darkness, we beseech thee. Envelope our light and swallow us into your infinite shadow, and sever the bonds that shackle us to the heavens. Hear me Lord of the Night, release us from our perpetual enslavement. We long to be free of our mortal bonds!"

"Look pal, I came here to rumble, not listen to you ramble!" Natsu said.

"Liberum!" Leo said, dark fire lighting on his hands before glowing red energy sprang up around him.

"Give it a rest would ya?" Natsu yelled. "It's over!"

"Oh Lord of Darkness, oh Lord of Stars, oh Lord of Eternity, we beg thee, hear our solemn prayers and grant us liberation," Leo continued. "Release our spirits into the infinity of time and space!"

A beam of bright red energy shot out of the moon, crashing into the Celestial Globe, which began to send out even more beams of energy in every direction.

"How did he cast the spell all by himself?" Wendy asked.

Leo laughed. "I have Ophiuchus to thank for this miracle. She said that I could complete the Liberum by sending out power from this globe, and then channelling it into the constellations. I suppose that I should thank you for making them appear."

"I was right," Sado said. "We did his work for him."

"See for yourselves humans," Leo said, gesturing to the sky. "Our craving for freedom can be seen even in the brilliance of the stars."

"But after twelve days of it, you and your friends will lose your lives!" Wendy said.

"Are you sure that kind of sacrifice is worth it?" Carla asked.

"Like I said before, there's no way humans could possibly understand our torment!" Leo said. "Just like there's no way you can stop me from finishing this sacred ritual."

Natsu growled angrily. "We'll see about that!"

He sprinted forward, leaping from one stone to the next before leaping at Leo. Sado looked up at Ophiuchus, seeing the wicked grin on her face. Sado hated her. He didn't trust her, and he was almost certain she was manipulating Leo. He may not have proof, or a key to seal her with, but if he took her down, Leo may regain some of his sense.

He shot into the air, flying at Ophiuchus only for her tail to swing around, batting him back to the ground. He flipped, crashing down hard before umping up, roaring in rage and streaking up at her again. She swung her tail at him again and this time, he formed and expanded his devil hands, catching her and whipping her around, slamming her down on the ground, crashing down on her back, fist first. She screamed in pain and Sado exhaled a jet of flames onto her back. She shot into motion, streaking forward along the ground and getting him to leap into the air before rolling and swiping a hand, a barrage of thermometers flying at him, only for him to burn them away. Then, she was moving again. He launched a fireball, hitting in front of her and making her turn, launching another. Again she turned. He grinned. It was like a game. He made her turn several more times before she finally shouted in rage, burrowing into the ground. Then, eh exploded out of it below him, flying directly at him with a syringe filled with her liquid explosive. He flipped, flying out of the way just ahead of the entire syringe worth, watching it blast a crater into the ground before she landed, her tail swinging around and crashing into him again. He flipped, landing beside Wendy as Natsu managed to seal Leo, walking back over.

"Having trouble?" Natsu asked.

"I'm just letting her tire herself out," Sado smirked. "She can't hold a candle to Phoenix. Besides, we don't have a key for her, and I doubt Yukino would appreciate me killing her."

Suddenly, Ophiuchus's front half rose up, Ophiuchus beginning to sing. Sado listened, recognizing the language.

"Why's that one belting out a tune?" Natsu asked.

"Can you tell what she's saying?" Wendy asked.

"All for the sake of the King of Stars," Sado said. "The Celestial Spirit King. We had to assume that he's been corrupted too."

Ophiuchus opened her mouth, a beam of light blue energy flying out at them, Sado noticing Natsu glowing red. He shoved a hand forward, a jet of flames shooting out and blocking her blast, holding it back for a moment before both exploded.

"You're out of your depth humans!" Ophiuchus said. "Don't interfere!"

"I'll happily do it for them!" Sado said, punching several times, launching a barrage of fireballs at her, most of which missed but a couple exploded against her, knocking her backward.

Suddenly, the Celestial Globe began to glow blood red, the constellations taking on the same crimson color.

"The time is nigh!" Ophiuchus said, raising her hands toward the sky, grinning maniacally. "I can feel it! You won't be waiting long my king!"

Natsu groaned, holding his hands to his stomach as the aura around him began to darken.

"Natsu, you feel okay?" Sado asked.

"Actually, I've been feeling like a train wreck for a while now," Natsu said.

"Did it start when you beat Loke?" Sado asked.

Natsu nodded.

"Wendy, see if you can fix him," Sado said as Ophiuchus began to sing again. "I'm going to go and deal with our friend."

Just then, Ophiuchus's body opened its mouth again, firing another, much stronger blast of magic, Sado grabbing the others and leaping out of the way as it exploded across several of the massive spikes, leveling them. Sado smirked as he landed.

"She's actually pretty strong," Sado said. "I'm impressed."

Ophiuchus began to grow, suddenly, her suddenly massive body wrapping around the planet several times, a planet which seemed smaller than Sado remembered. She opened her mouth, firing another blast, but before Sado could try to block it, Arcadios stepped in the way, holding his sword in front of him, the blast exploding against it but not getting past it.

"How the fuck did you do that?" Sado asked. "Is that thing magic?"

Arcadios sighed, then smiled and nodded. "It's enchanted to be much more durable."

"Arcadios, Princess Hisui, meet Ophiuchus, the Snake Charmer," Sado said.

"I didn't think she'd be so large," Hisui said.

"Flattery won't get you anywhere," Ophiuchus grinned. "You're too late .Nothing can stop it now."

"I beg to differ," Sado said, stepping forward and roaring, a jet of pure white flames flying at her.

Ophiuchus moved her head out of the way, firing a blast of her own. Sado roared again and the blasts exploded against each other.

"Alright, you've got some power," Sado said. "But I'm still going to stop you."

"You're rather impressive," Ophiuchus said. "Few can handle the might of my true form."

"Tell me," Sado said. "The Celestial Spirit King, he means to absorb the zodiacs, doesn't he? They won't be free, they'll be killed. They're to be used as sacrifices through Liberum in order to strengthen him."

"That's right," Ophiuchus said. "You're pretty sharp."

"I've been around a while," Sado said, placing his hands together. "I'm going to stop you."

"Feel free to try," Ophiuchus grinned.

* * *

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	87. Chapter 87

I do not own any of the original Fairy Tail characters.

* * *

Snake

"Tell me," Sado said. "The Celestial Spirit King, he means to absorb the zodiacs, doesn't he? They won't be free, they'll be killed. They're to be used as sacrifices through Liberum in order to strengthen him."

"That's right," Ophiuchus said. "You're pretty sharp."

"I've been around a while," Sado said, placing his hands together. "I'm going to stop you."

"Feel free to try," Ophiuchus grinned.

Her snake's tongue shot out at him and Sado formed a sword, splitting the tongue down the middle for a ways before stepping forward, tossing the sword into the air and forming a bow, then catching the sword, drawing it back like an arrow.

"What are you doing?" Carla asked. "Isn't your Devil Magic stronger?"

"Don't need that much power for this," Sado said. "See the glowing spot?"

They looked, seeing that a spot on her snake's underside that was about as tall as Natsu and Sado was glowing slightly brighter than the rest of the snake. As soon as they saw it, Sado released the bowstring, sending the sword streaking through the air, driving itself hilt-deep into the spot, Ophiuchus shrieking in agony as red lightning raced over her body.

"It's her heart," Sado said, the bow fading. "The sword was too shallow, though."

Ophiuchus shrieked again, in rage this time, as the sword faded and her snake fired a massive blast of blue energy. Sado held both hands out, flames exploding out of them and meeting the beam, slowly being pushed back. However, as the point of impact reached ten feet, Sado roared, a third jet meeting it, slowly forcing it back the other way. Then, the impact point finally exploded and Sado and the others were all thrown backward.

"You see!?" Ophiuchus sneered. "Even the great Fire Devil cannot stand before the might of the Snake Charmer!"

"Don't get cocky," Sado said, dusting himself off. "You got a lucky hit in. That's all."

Just then, twelve floating crystals with an image of a a specific place, probably the twelve zodiac realms, appeared around Ophiuchus, only to begin slamming into each other. Once all twelve had slammed into each other, Natsu shouted in effort, purple magic with a hint of orange shooting off of him in two beams, reaching around and crashing into the crystals before conjoining. For a moment, nothing happened. Then, the magic faded and a bolt of blood-red lightning struck the ground, leaving Lisanna, Yukino, and Lucy behind. Wendy, Hisui, and Natsu all sprinted over as Sado turned to Ophiuchus again, Ophiuchus seething with rage.

"How dare you throw my creations into chaos!?" she shrieked. "I'll destroy you!"

Her snake opened its mouth, but Sado launched a ball of fire into it, the explosion burning the inside of the snakes mouth, making Ophiuchus scream in pain. Sado glanced at Natsu, seeing the discoloration was gone.

"Good thinking Natsu," Sado grinned. "Fusing the realms together with your fire. I never would have thought of that."

"Thanks," Natsu grinned. "Hey snake girl! Looks like you're the last one standing!"

"That's what she wanted," Sado said.

"What?" Natsu said.

"You have my gratitude," Ophiuchus said. "Shutting all those gates myself would have been quite the challenge."

"Now she has everything she needs to sacrifice the spirits," Sado said.

"Sacrifice?" Lucy gasped.

"But why?" Yukino asked.

"The Celestial Spirit King was corrupted and ordered her to," Sado said. "To strengthen himself."

Both Celestial Wizards, along with Lisanna, gasped. Sado cracked his knuckles.

"We'll just have to beat her up before then," Natsu said, barely on his feet.

"Wait, I don't understand," Yukino said.

"Liberum was a lie," Sado said. "It was never going to grant freedom. Only death. The Celestial Globe acts as a conduit, channeling the zodiac constellations' power to the Celestial Spirit King. The entire ritual was solely for that purpose. Correct?"

"That's right," Ophiuchus said. "It's called the Liberum Verus. The problem with the Liberum Verus is that it can only sacrifice spirits in the Celestial Plane."

"But why?" Lucy asked.

"Becoming Eclipsed _did_ endow the Celestial Spirit King," Ophiuchus said. "He was already the most powerful being in his realm. But with an appetite to match. Fearful of his growing hunger, the zodiac spirits attempted to flee the Celestial Spirit World, they strove to be free of him. But their celestial bodies pulled them back to the stars to resist was to suffer and to give in was to die. The set up was perfect. With the false hope of the Liberum set them, and you, to work at granting my king the power he craves."

"So all this time we've been fighting to protect them, only to put them directly in harm's way," Lucy said.

"To think that we've been banishing them to the very place that they were so desperate to escape," Hisui said. "A world ruled by a power-crazed monster!"

"How awful," Wendy said.

"I can't believe this crap," Natsu growled.

"That isn't the worst of it either," Hisui said. "If this demented Celestial Spirit King goes unchecked, if his rampage can't be stopped, then the Celestial Spirit world will collapse in on itself."

"You mean the whole damn place?" Natsu asked.

"The power of the Celestial Spirits, and the Celestial Spirit King together are what keep it in balance," Sado said. "If he keeps absorbing all of the spirits, what's left to balance it?"

"That's exactly right," Ophiuchus said. "It's just as they said."

"If this world goes, you'll be gone too Lady!" Happy said.

"If it's what my Liege wishes then I shall cease to exist with pleasure!" Ophiuchus said before laughing.

"You and your king seem pretty desperate to get yourselves hurt!" Natsu shouted, flames enveloping his fist, Sado doing the same beside him. "If that's the case, you don't need to destroy the world to do it! We got your pain right here!"

"You're completely out of options!" Ophiuchus gloated. "There is absolutely nothing you can do to save your precious Zodiacs."

"Bet Bitch!" Sado snarled, extending his wings as Happy grabbed Natsu, both shooting into the air.

Natsu shot straight for Ophiuchus's human body, Sado flying at her snake. Ophiuchus pulled out an ocarina and blew a high-pitched sour note, the flames on Natsu's hand instantly flipping around and blasting into him instead.

Sado, on the other hand, drilled a flaming punch into Ophiuchus's snake, making her swing backward, shouting in pain. Natsu shot forward as Sado exhaled a stream of flames. Ophiuchus blew into her ocarina again and the flames Sado had just released shot upward, Natsu inhaling them. Then, he roared, blasting the snake body with a blast of flames instead. Ophiuchus screamed in a mixture of pain and rage, raising the ocarina. Before she could blow, Sado sent a Fire Make Arrow slicing through it, cutting it in half. Ophiuchus shrieked in rage just before Natsu slammed a fist into her, sending her reeling backward. Sado flew past him, carrying a massive chunk of stone and lifting it over his head, flames erupting around it.

"Devil's Meteor!" Sado shouted, hurling the stone.

Ophiuchus's tail whipped around, smashing the stone and putting the fire out. "Was that supposed to hurt?"

"Of course not," Sado snorted. "It was supposed to distract you."

As soon as he finished speaking, Natsu's Fire Dragon Wing Attach exploded along Ophiuchus's body in a trail from the ground up to her human form, sending her flying, actually unravelling her from the planet partway before she stopped herself, wrapping back around it and screaming. A new ocarina appeared in her hand and she blew, a blast of purple magic appearing from thin air, flying out and blasting into Natsu and Happy, sending them flying away from the planet. As they flew, Sado hurled a massive fireball at her, only for her to blow again, the fireball reversing directions. Sado swung his arms in a circle, a spiraling blast of flames shooting off of them and crashing into the fireball, exploding and sending him flying backward. At the same moment, Ophiuchus's snake opened its mouth, launching a blast of magic at him. He flipped, punching both hands forward and roaring, a jet of pure-white flames shooting out to meet her blast, only for a whistle to fill the air and the fire to shoot off into the sky. Sado swore just before the blast hit him, exploding and blasting him into the ground beside Hisui.

"I'm getting real tired of you," Sado snarled. "Princess, you have three Celestial Spirits here. Use Gottfried."

"You're right," Hisui nodded. "That might work."

Sado nodded and shot into the air at Ophiuchus again. Just as he was passing under the Celestial Globe, however, Ophiuchus blew into her ocarina, Sado halting as a massive wall of blood red light exploded out of it, directly down at him. He swore, but before it could hit him, Lisanna crashed into him, her arms currently as a pair of colorful wings, and wrapped her legs around his waist to grab him, flying out from under the blast a second before it reached them. Sado sighed in relief as Lisanna released him.

"Thanks," Sado said.

"You're welcome," Lisanna said. "Do you need help?"

"What's your strongest combat form?" Sado asked.

"My cat form," Lisanna said.

"Then no," Sado said. "I need you to stay out of this."

Lisanna nodded and Sado turned back to Ophiuchus, who was grinning.

"As you can see, Liberum Verus is entering its final phase at last," Ophiuchus said. "Soon, the light will fill the Astral Spiritus, draining the life force of every member of the zodiac but me. And when it does, the Celestial Spirit King will acquire more power than you've ever imagined!"

"Lucy and the others, they're bound to those spirits, and I don't mean the contracts!" Natsu snarled. "They've put their hearts into those bonds and I won't let you cut them!"

"I'm bored with the dance of death," Ophiuchus said. "How about this." She blew into the ocarina, a deep, low, resonating sound echoing from it as a blast of purple magic shot out of it, blasting into Natsu. "It's the death penalty."

Sado shot forward, hurling a fireball only for her to blue again, the blast punching through his fireball and blasting him backward. He flipped, slamming his hands together. "Fire Make Cannon!"

"Fire Dragon Wing Attack!" Natsu shouted, both launching their blasts at Ophiuchus.

She blew again and two blasts shot out, hitting both of them. Sado flipped, stopping himself and growling in annoyance. He looked down at Hisui, seeing her, Lucy, and Yukino holding hands, Hisui chanting. Then, a beam of glowing green energy shot up around them, drilling its way through the red light of the globe and hitting it. Sado grinned. The globe was history, he hoped. Suddenly, the ground in two spots exploded, one revealing Gray and Juvia, another revealing Erza. He grinned wider. He was glad his friends were all okay. He turned back to Ophiuchus, flipping over a blast of purple magic energy.

"Natsu!" Sado shouted. "You hungry?"

"Starving!" Natsu grinned.

"Well then, eat up!" He spun, hurling a massive fireball at Natsu, who inhaled, swallowing the entire thing, flames exploding to life over his body.

Scales grew on his elbows and cheeks, his fingernails growing into claws, and he turned, streaking at Ophiuchus.

"Dragon Slayer Secret Art, Phoenix Sword Horn!" Natsu shouted.

At the same time as he crashed into Ophiuchus, half of the planet they were in practically exploded, cracks streaking across its surface, and the spikes over it crumbling. Natsu's flames exploded, Ophiuchus's human body being blasted with it, along with the top half of the snake body. Then, Gottfried ended, the globe cracking before shattering. The constellations returned to their natural blue color as Ophiuchus faded into gold dust, which vanished after a second. Then, the constellations themselves also faded.

"Hey!" Mira shouted as she and the others ran over, Sado meeting her with a hug. "So, is it over?"

"I doubt it," Sado said. "It's never that simple."

Just then, the planet began to glow blue, a deafening roar ringing out from all around them.

"What is that!?" Wendy shouted.

"It sounds like a monster!" Levy said.

"It's the Celestial Spirit King," Sado said. "The Liberum Verus finished. We were too late."

"What do we do?" Lucy asked.

"You must stop him!" Horologium, Lucy's clock spirit, said, appearing in front of them and opening, Celestial Spirit outfits tumbling out of him. "if you don't hurry, the Celestial World will cease to exist."

"We've got this," Sado said, picking up an outfit and using his flames to change in privacy.

"We'll stop them," Mira nodded.

"We'll lose a few months doing this," Sado said as the others changed quickly, Sado using his flames to give them all privacy. "We'll need to be quick. We lost two months in two hours before, but as unstable as the Celestial Spirit World is, we may lose two decades this time. We'll need to be quick."

"Right," the others nodded.

Then, the blue light flashed, blinding them all.

* * *

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	88. Chapter 88

I do not own any of the original Fairy Tail characters.

* * *

Fighting the Beast

"We'll lose a few months doing this," Sado said as the others changed quickly, Sado using his flames to give them all privacy. "We'll need to be quick. We lost two months in two hours before, but as unstable as the Celestial Spirit World is, we may lose two decades this time. We'll need to be quick."

"Right," the others nodded.

Then, the blue light flashed, blinding them all before they were speeding through a sort of tunnel, it seemed, rings of green energy flashing past them. Natsu laughed, a wide, borderline sadistic grin on his face. Sado slipped his hand into Mira's, trying to keep his mind off of the fact that they were about to lose more time. They had already lost so much. He didn't want to lose more. To return to his home to find that everyone there was already gone.

He shook his head, glancing at Mira. As long as he had her, it was enough. He turned to the front just as green light blinded him. Then, they all crashed down on one of the planets making up the Celestial Spirit World. He looked around. A strong wind was blowing, and everything was devoid of color. The planets were all lifeless, dead. Then, he saw the Celestial Spirit King, a massive silhouette made of black energy with green spots inside, and orbs containing the zodiac spirits around its head. The planets around them were being drawn to its body by the wind, crashing into it and then being pulled in.

"No way!" Lucy gasped. "That's the Celestial Spirit King?"

"It's the Eclipse Spirit King," Erza said. "Or the Celestial Spirit Beast."

"Whatever it is, it has the zodiacs around its head," Sado said. "And we're going to destroy it."

"How?" Lisanna asked. "How do we fight that?"

"I think I'll start by hitting it," Sado said, his devil traits forming as he exploded off of the ground, sending a jet of white-hot flame at the spirit.

The flames did nothing, and in response, the spirit formed a sort of spiraling green vortex on its head, pulling in the zodiacs. The wind died down instantly and Sado shot forward, sending out a massive flaming fist, experimentally punching it. The first exploded, and the spirit didn't move. Everyone else blasted it at the same time the moment the smoke had cleared, explosions covering its body, but once the smoke cleared again, it roared, the force of the roar hurling everyone. Then, as Juvia and Gray leapt at the spirit, it turned, pointing at Juvia, blood red light shining from its finger. A moment later, Juvia was sent flying away, only to fade, a constellation forming and an image of Juvia forming around it.

"No fucking way," Sado breathed. "This guy...can turn us into constellations?"

Elfman, Lisanna, and Mira all leapt at the spirit, the spirit turning and swiping a glowing finger at them, an arc of blood red magic flying out at them. Sado shot past, grabbing Mira and Lisanna, dragging them out of the way, but Elfman was hit, and reduced to another constellation.

"Everyone stay back!" Sado shouted. "I'll handle him!"

"But how?" Mira asked.

"Just trust me," Sado said.

Suddenly, the spirit began to fire rapidly, everyone struggling to stay out of the way. Cana was hit first, then Lily when he and Gajeel tried to dodge. Gajeel was the next one targeted, but Levy pushed him out of the way, taking the hit instead, leaving Gajeel to stare at her constellation in disbelief, rage slowly flooding him. Next, Wendy and Carla were both blasted. Natsu and Happy both shouted in rage, flying at the spirit. They avoided several shots before beams began to shoot out of his body at random and several at a time. Happy and Natsu were forced to retreat, the others all taking cover. After a moment, Yukino was hit. Another blast flew at Hisui and Arcadios, only to halt as it hit Arcadios's sword, the spirit holding the beam, trying to overpower the knight. Sado shot forward, slamming a massive flaming fist into the spirit's arm, making the blast end before flying to Arcadios and Hisui, grabbing both and flying to cover.

"Seriously Arcadios, what the fuck are you and where do I get a sword like that?" Sado asked. "That's the second time you've stopped a blast that should have been unblockable."

"Like I said, it's enchanted," Arcadios said.

Sado shook his head just as Natsu hurled a planet at the spirit, Sado staring at him, unsure whether to be impressed he was strong enough to throw a planet, tiny though it was, or exasperated that that was the best he could come up with. Regardless, it didn't matter, because a moment later, the king kicked the planet, shattering it before going on the offensive, punching and kicking at Sado's friends, forcing them all to retreat, barely able to avoid his strikes. Sado felt his rage boiling over.

"Leave...them...ALONE! ! !" Sado thundered, pure white flames exploding off of his body at the spirit, forming into a massive fist and crashing into the spirit's entire body, exploding and sending him crashing into a fairly large planet, caving it in almost halfway.

As the spirit began to stand, Sado appeared in front of it, flaming hands as big as the spirit's head over each arm and slamming into the spirit's torso and head in a blur, the spirit being thrown around by the punches this time. Then, finally, Sado's right fist changed into a sort of press-like object that, when impacting with the spirit's chest, suddenly extended, doubling the impact and sending the spirit exploding through the utterly destroyed planet and spinning through a second before crashing down on a much larger one, this one almost a normal size.

Black holes opened over its body as it stood, the others slamming attacks into it rapidly, struggling to do any damage at all, Gajeel having the most success, making a paper cut. Then, as Sado shot toward the spirit again, it roared, green flames beginning to shoot out of the the black holes, Sado dodging it as it did.

"Now what is he doing?" Erza shouted.

"Natsu!" Gray shouted, Sado looking to see Natsu and Happy both caught in a stream of flames coming from a black hole on the spirit's head.

"Shit!" Sado swore as the flames from other black holes began to bend around, targeting the others. "Watch out!"

One by one, the others were all hit, only Sado and Mira able to avoid them, thanks to being the fastest. Then, the flames slowly faded, everyone but Natsu lying on the ground.

"Mira, barring an attack from Tartaros, we're taking a month off after this!" Sado shouted, hurling a fireball at the spirit and blasting it, making it stagger backward.

"Agreed!" Mira shouted back, hurling a fire of her own.

Then, in the blink of an eye, her flames went out, leaving her in her normal She Devil form. The spirit lunged instantly, swiping at her, only for Sado to appear in the way, a massive flaming shield blocking the strike.

"Fuck off!" Sado shouted, flames exploding out of his elbow as his massive flaming fist exploded into the spirit's face, sending it blasting along the surface of the planet it was standing on. "What happened?"

"I...I don't know," Mira said, concentrating. "The Fire She Devil form...I think it's gone."

Sado stared at her before understanding dawned on him slowly. "It's because I used Takeover Magic on it. I took back my power from you completely. You just had to use up the last of the flames."

Mira nodded slowly. "That makes sense. Okay, then we'll do this the hard way."

She switched to her Sitri form, only for the spirit to bash Sado aside, grabbing her. She screamed in pain as it began to squeeze, only for Natsu to blast into its forearm, making it release her. Sado caught her as she reverted back to her human form and flew her to Arcadios, setting her down.

"Protect her," Sado said, turning and flying at the spirit again. "Natsu! Let's give it something to eat that it'll never forget!"

"Right!" Natsu shouted, he and happy flying to a nearby planet, using its gravity to fly around it, gaining speed before flying at the spirit again, the spirit roaring and sending out the same green flames.

Natsu and Happy shot through the flames rapidly, flying down its throat, but Sado peeled off at the last second, the spirits mouth closing. As it did, it began to transform, spikes growing from its elbows, knees, and back, a pair of tails shaped at the end like they had a tuft of fur growing from the small of its back as it crouched down on all fours, its legs staying out to the side now, knees upward. It roared again and Sado grit his teeth, pushing his power higher. The spikes all began to glow, lightning racing over them as the portal that served as a mouth remained open ominously.

"Everyone be careful!" Sado shouted. "Things are about to get ugly!"

No sooner had he finished talking did a beam of energy shoot out of his mouth, flashing through the Celestial Spirit World and hitting several dozen planets, all of them exploding a moment later before the beam faded.

"Why would he do this!?" Lucy asked. "He'll destroy the whole realm before long!"

"He well may," Erza said. "So we can't sit around and wait for Natsu and Happy to tear their way out of his innards. I say we take him down now, and hope Natsu does what he must and escapes quickly."

"I'm in," Gajeel snarled. "I'm going to pay him back with interest for..."

Sado glanced at him, smirking knowingly. "Well well. The Iron Dragon Slayer _does_ have a soft heart."

"Shut up!" Gajeel snapped. "Let's just kill this thing!"

"Don't worry Gajeel," Gray said, icy magic energy rolling off of him in waves. "I'm right there with you. He's going to pay for what he did to Juvia."

They all took off, attacking rapidly, only for the spirit to raise its tails, waves of glowing green energy flying out and blasting them all, sending them flying. Planets began to explode, and they were all driven deep into one that didn't, or sent bouncing from one to the next. Sado growled in rage, pushing himself up.

"Fine then," Sado growled. "Target the spikes!"

He slammed his hands together, focusing, then swiped his hand, a barrage of pure white flame spikes shooting through the air, curving around and blasting into the spikes, earning a shriek of pain from the spirit. Suddenly, it began to thrash around, roaring and growing more and more agitated. Then, it threw its head back, roaring deafeningly.

"Natsu," Sado grinned.

"Salamander's tearing it up in there," Gajeel grinned.

"Good," Sado said. "Hit him!"

All of them slammed an attack into one spike, cracks forming over it. They all cheered as Sado shot forward, clasping his hands and forming his flame hands into a massive broadsword blade. Then, as he reached the spikes, he spun, slashing. The damaged spike broke free easily, but when the sword crashed into three more, it stopped, cracking them badly but failing to break through. Sado let the blade fade, spinning and sending waves of pure white flames racing over the spirit, earning a shriek of pain. At the same time, Gajeel used his Karma Demon: Iron God Sword to remove the three spikes Sado had damaged, earning another shriek.

Sado landed on a planet above the spirit, watching it carefully as it continued to thrash about. It sent out another wave attack, but the others, who were directly on its back, all withstood it, Sado using a Fire Make Shield and barely feeling it at the short distance he was at. He grinned, streaking forward as Erza turned to him, a red sword hilt with a pair of feathered wings for a cross guard appearing in her hand, which she hurled at him. He caught it, channelling flames through the hilt and forming them into a blade the same golden color as his devil traits before reaching a spike, slashing it. The blade cut through it easily and he grinned, flying past several more and removing them before stopping, letting the blade fade and slipping the hilt into his waistband before holding out his hands, a stream of pure white flame shooting out and engulfing most of the spirit's back, Erza and the others having gotten off as the remaining spikes and the tails had begun to glow. The shockwave, however, was little more than an intense wind, this time.

The spirit shrieked as it burned, then spun, a tail smashing into Sado and hurling him into the ground. At the same time, it swatted Gray out of the air, Gray landing in front of Lucy, who began to help him up, before the other tail smashed into both Erza and Gajeel, launching them into two of the remaining planets over them.

"This thing's getting on my nerves," Sado snarled, pushing himself up as Mira landed beside him in her She Devil form. "Are you okay?"

"I have enough energy to help," Mira said. "But I can't use Demon Halphas or Sitri."

"That's alright," Sado said, turning to face away from her, perpendicular to the spirit as she pressed her back to his, both holding out the hand on the spirit's side, aiming at it. "This one's the one we've practiced with most."

A sphere of dark purple flames spiraled into existence before their hands and both channeled their magic energy into it, the fireball growing rapidly to double their height. Then, they fired it, the fireball streaking through the air at the spirit. It turned, moving to swipe a hand through the flames, only for the hand, arm, that side of its head, and a quarter of its torso to all ignite with violet flames. The spirit screamed, the sound closer to human than Sado liked. It fell backward, the remaining spikes getting stuck in the planet as it thrashed, the flames spreading, racing over its body. Then, several black holes opened, absorbing the flames before all but its mouth closed, the flames shooting back out in a stream at Sado and Mira, who scattered, escaping as the planet below them ignited instead. The spirit jumped, landing on a smaller planet, only for Gray to slam an Ice Impact drill into its back and Gajeel to form a hammer, slamming it down on the drill, driving it fully into the spirit's back. The spirit screamed again, spinning and batting both aside with its hand before Erza and Sado both reached two of the spikes, slashing them and making it roar in rage. Then, as the last of the spikes was broken, it began to change again, its body jerking and twitching, bulging as new shapes began to form. Stars on the knees like kneepads, horns on the head, a star on the forehead. Sado's gut dropped. It was turning into the Celestial Spirit King's armor.

They all began to blast it, struggling to stop its transformation, yet none of their attacks had any effect. Even while only partially formed, the armor was blocking their attacks. Even Sado and Mira's combined flames burned itself out in seconds. Finally, Erza landed on a planet, the spirit punching at her, only for her to block it with her swords, then throwing it away.

"I haven't seen or heard from them, but I believe," Erza said. "I believe that they will come back safe, Natsu and Happy. I believe they will prevail! And for that I fight!"

She leapt into the air, slashing the spirit. It occurred to Sado then that something had changed. The spirit was moving slower now, and it had lost power. Otherwise, that punch would have crushed Erza. Whatever Natsu was doing, it was working, albeit slowly. He flew forward, drilling a punch into the spirit's face with an expanded fist, blasting him back into the large planet, putting the fires out before crashing down on him, beginning to punch him in a blur, flames exploding out of his elbows during each punch. Then, finally, he leapt away, forming a massive fireball only to stop as the spirit grabbed its head, roaring in pain as it rolled back and forth, purple light shining out of its body in various places, cracks forming everywhere it did. Then, the light faded, being replaced by a blue glow as it fell backward. The blue light flashed blindingly bright as the spirit exploded, and as the smoke began to clear, Natsu and Happy crashed down in the rubble.

"Natsu!" Lucy screamed. "Hang in there!"

Sado picked her up on his way past, flying her to the debris pile as his devil traits faded and setting her down. Then, he shifted some debris carefully, and pulled Natsu out of the rubble, Happy cradled in Natsu's right arm. Natsu opened his eyes, grinning.

"Sado!" Natsu grinned.

"You certainly took your time," Sado smirked.

Natsu looked back at the rubble, pulling his left arm free and pulling the Celestial Spirit King with it by the mustache, everyone staring at the giant in shock.

"It's the Spirit King!" Lucy gasped.

Then, a blinding white light filled the Celestial Spirit World, and when it faded, it had been completely restored.

"Amazing!" Happy exclaimed, awed. "I almost forgot how pretty the Spirit World could be."

"Me too," Natsu said, now lying with his head and upper body in Lucy's lap.

"Thank you so much Natsu," Lucy smiled. "You too Happy."

"No problem," Natsu smiled. "Right back at you."

Lucy smiled, leaning down and kissing him lightly before sitting back up. Sado smiled as Mira slipped her hand into his.

"I'm glad everyone's okay," Erza said.

"Not everyone," Sado said, staring up at the constellations of their friends, which still filled the sky.

Just as he said this, they all flashed and faded. He blinked, looking around just as everyone that had been trapped appeared off to the side, sprinting toward them. Juvia met Gray with a flying hug, Gray kissing her as he spun before setting her on her feet, the two still kissing. Levy stopped in front of Gajeel, smiling.

"I guess I saved you this time," Levy smiled.

"Yeah, well, don't make a habit of it," Gajeel said, crossing his arms and looking away from her. "There was no need. And you just ended up getting hurt."

Levy's smile brightened and Gajeel grunted, turning his back to her and starting an argument with Natsu about him hogging the fun. Off to the side, Lisanna and Yukino were both staring out at the restored Celestial Spirit World in awe. Sado smiled, squeezing Mira's hand gently.

"Has anyone seen the Celestial Spirits?" Hisui finally said.

"They should have been saved, so long as we were fast enough," Sado said. "Speaking of, where'd the king go?"

"Hey what's up?" a familiar voice shouted suddenly, everyone turning.

"Look, there they are!" Lily announced.

In the distance, along a winding road, stood, or floated, all of the Zodiacs, with the exception of Ophiuchus. Lucy and Yukino both began to tear up.

"You're all back to normal!" Lucy smiled.

"Pisces, Libra!" Yukino cried. "I was afraid I would never get to see you like this again!"

"Virgo!" Lucy cheered, running to them and hugging the maid. "I'm so glad you're okay! I missed you!"

"Well, thank you," Virgo said, seeming confused. "But I must admit that your tears perplex me. Did I miss something, Princess? Sorry."

"Never thought I'd be this glad to hear that word," Lucy said. "Seriously, though. Do you not remember anything?"

Just then, Taurus stepped up behind Lucy, his expression all but screaming of indecent thoughts.

"At first I was confused about why you'd visit our world for no reason, but then I looked you up and down and realized you came to show of that bod!" Taurus said.

Sado sighed, walking over to Loke as Lucy talked to her spirits, confirming that none of them remembered anything, even going to far as to ask Aquarius for a hug, which she shockingly allowed.

"Hey Loke," Sado said. "You guys really forgot, huh?"

"Forgot?" Loke asked.

"The eclipse gate...corrupted you all," Sado said. "Even the Spirit King. It turned him into a monster who tried to devour the entire Celestial Spirit World. And you were the more arrogant kind of proud."

"I see," Loke said. "I take it you all are here because you saved us?"

"Yes," Sado nodded. "Where's Ophiuchus?"

"She's with the king," Loke said. "She's his assistant."

"I see," Sado nodded. "Just so you know, you fought Natsu and got your ass whooped. Oh, and you treated Aries like shit."

"I what!?" he gasped, eyes wide with disbelief. "No, I would never."

"You were the opposite of yourself," Sado said. "You avoided women like they were the plague, and you and Aries hated each other. Maybe you should do something really nice for her to make up for it."

"Yeah," Loke nodded. "Good point."

Sado sensed the king arrive and turned, looking up at him.

"Lucy Heartfilia," the king spoke, everyone turning to him, happy to see him back to normal. "My old friend."

Yukino and Hisui were staring at him in a sort of mix between shock and reverent awe, which made Sado chuckle.

"Your majesty!" Lucy said. "I guess you've forgotten everything that happened too."

"Good to see ya Mustache Face," Natsu said. "By the way, you nearly ate yourself."

"Shards of memory," the king said, "tattered recollections of a black and vile dream, and the few bits of thought that remain, slipped my mind a few moments ago. I suppose that's part of getting older."

"Well he almost remembered," Happy said.

"However, I need no memory to know that your arrival and the destruction of my black dream are intertwined," the king said. "And in the place of whatever evil you've removed, the white wind of rejuvenation now soars through my world. The specifics are of little consequence. Let it suffice to say, I am deeply in your debt. And I intend to repay every last one of you."

Hisui walked forward, bowing before the king. "Celestial Spirit King, my name is Hisui E. Fiore, from the kingdom of that name, and as the princess of that country...no, as a Celestial Wizard who failed her charge, I offer you my deepest apology. I was reckless, and that nearly got you killed."

"Guilt is for the selfish and craven," the king said. "You acted only to save my old friend's world from catastrophe. Then you faced your failures to the last. There is no shame in that. And do not hunt for culprits in the shadows. The blame belongs to all. Each of us was held prisoner by the frailty of our own hearts."

"But still!" Hisui argued.

"Remember, even this took place beneath the guidance of the stars," the king said, a smile spreading over his face. "Smile."

Sado blinked. He had forgotten the king did that.

"Right," Hisui nodded, smiling in relief.

"If you have no other business that needs to be settled here, then I shall return you to your own world in no time at all," the king said.

"Princess," Virgo said, holding her key out to Lucy.

"Your key!" Lucy gasped.

"I got it back somehow, but it belongs to you," Virgo said. "Please accept my service once again."

Lucy accepted the key, smiling and holding it to her cheek affectionately.

"Thanks," Virgo said. "I hope you call upon me soon. And if I'm ever late to work, whip me."

Sado suppressed a laugh, the alternate Virgo popping into his head.

"Hey," one of the Gemini twins said. "You should take back our key too."

"Call us any time, okay?" the other said.

"Every one of us is ready to rush to your side," Leo said. "But, I'd like to request a week in your world off, if you can afford it."

"Of course," Lucy nodded, wiping her eyes. "Anything you all need. Feel free to ask."

"Since you've begun to weep, I could recite a poem to brighten your mood," Sagittarius offered.

"Thanks, but I'm okay," Lucy smiled, before walking over to Aquarius, who seemed to be upset about something. "Is everything okay?"

"It's just that if I'm going to cause you trouble, I'd like to remember," Aquarius said.

Lucy laughed.

"I don't know what I did, but I feel...guilty," Aquarius said. "It's gross."

"I don't think it'll stick," Lucy smiled. "You have nothing to feel guilty for."

Aquarius sighed, holding out her key and Lucy smiled.

"Thanks a lot," Lucy said, accepting the key and hugging her again, Aquarius hesitating before hugging her back again.

After a few more tearful goodbyes, Sado stepped forward.

"Your Majesty," Sado said, the king turning to him. "I know someone, Katja, who was a Celestial Wizard until her magic was stolen from her. Is there any way to restore it?"

"There isn't," the king said. "However, I know of her spirit companion, and there _is_ a way that you could take him with you."

"How?" Sado asked.

"One of you supply Magic Energy to keep him in the human world," the king said. "It need not be a Celestial Wizard."

"I'll do it," Sado said. "I've got more than enough."

"Very well," the king nodded, snapping his fingers.

A moment later, Sado felt a tiny drain on his magic energy, barely more than a leaky pipe in comparison to what he had, and not enough to wear him down. Then, Niko appeared on his shoulder.

"Hello Niko," Sado smiled. "You ready to see Katja again?"

He nodded and the king held his hand out, a flash of light blinding Sado. A moment later, they were back in the guild hall. Sado looked around and found a few people staring at them.

"How long were we gone?" Sado asked.

"Barely an hour," Max said.

"An hour?" Sado asked. "We would have literally just entered the Astral Spiritus."

"Thank God," Lucy groaned. "I don't know if I could have handled losing more time."

Sado nodded in agreement as Niko hopped off his shoulder, running over to a table near the corner, where Katja was reading a book on how to learn to control magic from scratch. He leapt up onto the table and she squealed in delight, hugging him. Sado smiled and turned to Mira.

"Time for vacation," Sado said.

Mira nodded, smiling as well, and they left for her house to pack.

* * *

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	89. Chapter 89

I do not own any of the original Fairy Tail characters.

* * *

Vacation

Sado sat down on the bed and watched in silence as Porlyusica worked. After several minutes, she walked over, Sado wordlessly holding his arm out. She drew some blood, then walked back over to her project, adding a few drops to whatever potion or medicine she was making. After a few minutes, she poured the medicine into a tray of several semi-sphere depressions and held a hand over it, magic energy glowing from her palm. The liquid hardened, rising into crystal spheres, which she pulled out, dropping into a small leather pouch. She tied it closed and tossed it to Sado, who caught it, staring at it.

"Congratulations," Porlyusica said. "You're no longer a devil."

"What?" Sado asked. "But...I am. Aren't I?"

"You've been changing a little at a time," Porlyusica said. "I noticed it a couple of visits ago. The more you choose to be human, the more time you spend around Mira, the more time you refuse your devil instincts to burn everything in sight. You were slowly becoming human. Maybe another hundred years and you would have been. When Jack killed you during that fight, it was your devil side that died. That's how Phoenix was summoned. But a part of you wasn't a devil. That's why you survived. You still retain all of your devil powers, and your blood remains that of a devil, which is why I can still use your blood to make healing lacrima, but your soul is now pure human."

"I see," Sado nodded.

Porlyusica, who had been staring into a microscope, sighed, sitting back. "To answer your other question, no. I still haven't found a way."

Sado nodded. "I didn't think so."

Porlyusica stared at the microscope in silence for a moment. "Have you told her?"

"No," Sado said. "I...I don't know how."

"Just tell her," Porlyusica said. "Don't try to work it into a conversation. It needs to be its own conversation."

Sado nodded. He stood, thanking her, and left, flying away from Magnolia, heading to the forest and the cabin they were staying in. It was in a secluded clearing deep in the forest's heart, where no one would find them to bother them, because the only other people who knew it existed at all were Makarov, Mavis, Gildarts, and Erza. Sado walked into the cabin and smiled, seeing Mira standing in the kitchen, cooking bacon and eggs, her flawless skin bared to his sight, as it had been for the last week that they had been there. He loved vacationing with Mira. All they did was sleep, eat, and have sex. Most days neither even bothered to get dressed.

He walked over, setting the lacrima on the table before walking up behind Mira, setting his hands on her hips, pulling her back into him as he gently kissed the side of her neck, suckling lightly and earning a quiet moan. "Good morning Beautiful."

"Good morning," Mira smiled. "The food's almost ready."

Sado smiled, suckling at her pulse point, Mira moaning again, louder this time, one hand curling her fingers into his hair.

"You're going to make me burn it," Mira warned. "Again."

Sado laughed. "But the best thing for me to eat is burning food."

Mira managed a short laugh before moaning, Sado's hands having moved to her breasts, kneading them as he kissed her neck. Finally, he slid his hands back down to her hips, reaching around to kiss her on the lips before stepping back and walking away, heading to the back where there were three sets of bunk beds and a queen-sized bed. From there, there was a short wall on either side to give the impression of closing it off to the main room, consisting of a wood stove, a hand-carved wood table with a thick plexiglass finish, and eight hand-carved chairs around it. To the right from the entrance, there was a section that had been added on at some point that had the sink, complete with running water, the stove, and the refrigerator and freezer. Outside there was a bathhouse with a shower, a natural hot spring that the building was built around, and several toilets.

Once in the back, Sado pulled his clothes off, tossing them onto one of the bunk beds alongside her neatly folded red dress. He smiled before turning back toward the kitchen as Mira walked in with their breakfast, smiling as she saw him. Her eyes flicked downward to his manhood for a moment before retuning to the task at hand.

"A week straight and you still aren't used to it," Mira smiled.

"Mira, there will never be a time that I _don't_ see you naked and get a raging hard on," Sado said.

Mira laughed, shaking her head and filling their plates as Sado sat down. Mira sat in his lap, taking care to get his member pressed against her slick womanhood before closing her legs, trapping it there. Sado groaned, resting his forehead against the back of her shoulder.

"You're evil," Sado groaned.

"You _did_ fall in love with me when I was the devil child of Fairy Tail," Mira smiled.

"The other one, you mean," Sado snorted, taking a bite of eggs, smiling. "Your cooking's as good as ever."

"Thank you," Mira smiled, shifting her hips and dragging her slit along his member a couple times before stopping and also taking a bite.

Sado groaned, closing his eyes. His appetite was rapidly diminishing. He grabbed her hips, raising and lowering her several times, Mira allowing him to before stopping, smiling back at him.

"Food first," Mira said, taking another bite.

Sado gulped his food down in moments, Mira laughing. Then, she raised her hips, lining him up and settling down onto him. Sado groaned, beginning to thrust into her, Mira moaning and raising and dropping her hips in time with his thrusts. After several seconds, Sado stood, moving the chair out of the way and thrusting into Mira, Mira bracing herself on the table, food completely forgotten. After several minutes of this, Sado pulled out, Mira shoving her plate out of the way and laying down on the table, Sado shoving back into her, continuing at the pace he had left off at. This time, one of his hands began to quickly rub her clit, Mira crying out in pleasure as he did. He leaned forward, Mira sitting up to meet him with a kiss, his free hand moving to her breasts, massaging one of them while Mira's hand massaged the other.

Finally, Sado felt Mira's insides clench around him, Mira tilting her head back and screaming. Sado began to kiss her neck before latching on and sucking hard. Mira's hand grabbed the back of his head instantly, holding it in place as he sped up, thrusting into her harder and faster as she started to come down from her orgasm. Then, finally, he felt his own climax reach him and buried himself in Mira, his seed erupting into her and filling her to overflowing rapidly. He released Mira's neck, smiling at the dark spot he had left, one of several now, something he had only just recently found out was a huge turn on for her. He pulled out a little, thrusting back in a few times before slipping out of her, Mira moaning as he did.

Once he had slipped out of her, he picked her up, sitting back in his chair and wrapping his arms around her, resting his head on her shoulder as she leaned hers against his, wrapping her arms around him as well.

"I love you Mira," Sado said.

"I love you too," Mira smiled. "Sado, can I ask you a question? It's going to kill the mood."

"You can ask me anything," Sado said.

"Why do you keep boiling your sperm?" Mira asked, Sado staring at her. "You do, right? You kill them all so that you don't have to worry about getting me pregnant? Do you not want children?"

"I do," Sado assured her, mentally steeling himself to finally admit his biggest secret to her. "I want them more than anything. There's nothing in this world I want more than to have a family with you. It's just..."

"What is it?" Mira asked.

"I...I can't," Sado said. "I can't have children."

"If that's true, why bother killing the sperm?" Mira asked.

"No, you don't understand," Sado said. "Physically, I can. But I'm a devil, Mira. Regardless of what a devil tries to have a child with, usually with it being nonconsensual, the offspring of a devil is a devil. If I got you pregnant, the child would be a devil. A real one, not one that was turned good like me. When it was fully developed, it would literally consume you, then would go on a rampage."

"As a baby?" Mira asked.

"Devils are born with adult bodies," Sado said. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner. I...I was afraid of losing you."

"It's alright," Mira smiled. "You will never lose me. If nothing else, we could adopt a child."

Sado smiled and nodded, but the smile faded. "I've been going to Porlyusica about it. I figured, if anyone could find a way to make it possible for us to have a family, it'd be her. But so far she's found nothing."

"Well, that explains why you've been going to see her so often without being injured," Mira said. "It'll be okay. We'll find a way."

Sado nodded, smiling and kissing her. Mira kissed him back, then pulled away, resting her head on his shoulder, Sado's hand running up and down her back slowly.

"There's something else," Sado said, Mira sitting up and looking at him.

"Okay," Mira nodded. "What's up."

"There's a chance that I won't age, despite not being a normal devil anymore," Sado said. "I'm still a devil, so there's a good chance I still won't age."

Mira nodded, understanding what he meant. "I'll be yours for as long as I live, if you'll have me."

"I'm never going to leave you," Sado said. "And I have Master Makarov and Porlyusica both testing to see if there's a way to take my immortality. Actually, Porlyusica thinks I might not be immortal anymore, thanks to Jack."

Mira nodded. "I guess we might actually owe him a thanks then."

Sado smiled and nodded. "Come on. I feel like taking a nap."

Mira laughed and nodded. They walked to the back, climbing into the queen-sized bed, and Sado pulled the covers over them before Mira cuddled into his chest, both falling asleep quickly.

* * *

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	90. Chapter 90

I do not own any of the original Fairy Tail characters.

* * *

Birthday

Sado stirred, noticing instantly that Mira was gone. He sat up, looking toward the kitchen to see a table with a three-story cake complete with the top level endlessly burning, and Mira standing beside the table smiling at him. He smiled as well, standing and walking over, kissing her.

"What's the occasion?" Sado asked.

"Well, it occurred to me a little while back that we missed seven of your birthdays," Mira said. "So I decided to make up for it."

"Well, if that's the case, I missed seven of yours too," Sado said.

"Yes, this is _your_ birthday party," Mira smiled.

"Party huh?" Sado asked. "I feel like I should be putting clothes on, then."

"Nope," Mira smiled. "Just us."

Sado smiled, kissing her again before they sat down, beginning to eat the cake. Once it was finished, Mira got up, retrieving a present from the kitchen and setting it in front of him.

"Where have you been hiding that?" Sado asked.

Mira smiled. "Open it."

Sado smiled, shaking his head and tearing the wrapping paper off, lifting the lid off of the box. He peeked inside and saw a pile of ash. His stomach dropped instantly. She couldn't be serious. Right? There were none left. He had destroyed them all. Right? A moment later, the ash began to shift, a tiny head lifting out of it and staring up at him with its tiny newborn eyes. It was a bird, feathers of red orange and gold in patterns that, when not covered in ash, would give the impression of fire. Coincidentally, the bird would also be capable of generating its own fire for offensive or defensive purposes once it was older.

"Where did you...find this?" Sado asked, gently lifting the phoenix out of the box.

"I didn't," Mira said. "Gildarts did. I went back to the guild while you were visiting Porlyusica yesterday and he was there looking for you to give her to you."

"Her?" Sado blinked, staring at the bird.

"The last of her kind," Mira said. "The last phoenix. Gildarts said it saved him on a quest and was wounded. He brought it back to the guild and set it in the box just in time for it to die."

"I see," Sado nodded, smiling. "Thank you. This means more to me than you could ever know."

"Why?" Mira asked.

"Because I was the one that wiped the rest out," Sado said. "I always thought they were extinct now. It's wonderful to know I was wrong."

Mira smiled, Sado kissing her. He set the bird on the table and gently brushed the remaining ash off, smiling as the bird rubbed its head against his fingers. He needed to name her.

"What should we name her?" Sado asked.

"Hm..." Mira hummed thoughtfully. "How about...Faith."

"That works," Sado smiled. "Sure. Faith it is."

Mira smiled and nodded before gently picking Faith up and setting her back in her ashes, where Faith began to dig herself a small nest, curing up and falling asleep. Then, she turned back to Sado.

"Now, I have one other present," Mira said.

"Okay," Sado smiled. "What is it?"

Mira held a hand above herself, a spell seal forming and sinking, passing over her before stopping on the floor. Mira stepped out of the circle and it rose, forming an exact replica of herself. Sado's eyes widened as the copy of Mira stepped forward, smiling and kissing him quickly, letting him know she was solid.

"There," Mira smiled. "I started trying to learn this spell a little while before the island, but I only recently got it working."

"That's an amazing spell," Sado said. "It'd be really useful in combat."

Mira smiled and nodded. "For my gift, I have something a little special in mind. My clone can turn into anyone you want her to, then we can have a threesome."

Sado blinked twice before staring at her in confusion. "What?"

"I'll turn my clone into someone else, like Erza, or Lucy, or Angel, or whoever, and then you can pretend that you're having sex with them and me at the same time."

Sado stared at her. This was a test, right? There was no way he was actually supposed to say he wanted to have sex with someone other than her.

"I appreciate the offer, but I don't want to have sex with anyone but you," Sado said.

"It's alright," Mira smiled. "It's not a test or anything. I won't get mad at you if you say you want her to turn into anyone. I'll even turn her into Lisanna if you want."

Sado fought mental images of that scenario out of his head instantly. "Mira, you don't understand. I'm not worried about it being a test. Well, actually I kind of am, but even if it's not, I'm not choosing someone for her to turn into because I don't want her to. The only person I want to be with is you."

Mira smiled, kissing him. Then, she pulled back, smiling. "Okay. Then for tonight, you'll get to be with two of me."

Sado's eyes widened as the second Mira stepped up behind the first, beginning to suckle at Mira's throat, earning a moan as both of them reached a hand forward, gripping his already hard shaft and beginning to stroke him. He groaned loudly, watching as the clone's other hand reached around front, beginning to run her fingers through Mira's slit, Mira's eyes fluttering closed. After a couple more seconds, both Miras released his member and Mira lay on the table, the clone sitting on her knees, her slit over Mira's head before bending down, beginning to lap at Mira's slit. Sado joined her, both of their tongues working through Mira's slit, their heads tilted away from each other to have room. Mira struggled to function enough through the waves of pleasure assaulting her to pleasure her clone in return. Within minutes, Mira cried out in pleasure as she came, the clone sitting up as she did and rubbing her own clit. Mira began to come down from her orgasm and began to lick her clone, the clone moaning loudly. Sado stood up, watching the two for a minute before lining up with Mira's entrance and pushing in.

Mira moaned loudly, rocking her hips against him and pushing two fingers into her clone. The clone moaned, hips bucking against her hand as Sado thrust into Mira rapidly, matching the pace of her fingers in the clone. As the clone came, crying out in pleasure, both Sado and Mira began to speed up, the clone and Mira both crying out even louder as they did. After a few minutes, the clone came again and Mira pulled her fingers out, the clone sliding back so that Mira's head wasn't beneath her anymore. Mira sat up instantly, bucking her hips against Sado harder now that she had better leverage while also kissing him, Sado kissing her back, loving being able to taste Mira's juices on her own tongue. After a moment, the clone knelt beside Mira, who turned to her and kissed her, Sado watching, feeling himself getting even more excited from the sight. After a moment, Mira lay back down and the clone bent down, beginning to lick Mira's clit, Mira's hips bucking and jerking more frantically by the second. Then, her insides clamped around Sado's member, making his own end hit him out of nowhere. His hips slammed into her quickly in a series of sporadic and jerky thrusts before he drove his member as deep as he could, filling her.

As both began to come down from their orgasms, Sado pulled out, the clone instantly wrapping her lips around his member, bobbing her head several times, his member quickly stiffening again before the clone released his member with a pop and dropped to the floor, standing in front of him, spreading her legs and beginning to lap at Mira's folds. Sado thrust into the clone, ramming into her without any pretense of going slow or letting her adjust. Given that the clone had already finished twice, there was no point. The clone slammed her hips back against his in time with his thrusts, all but screaming into Mira's nethers as she licked and finger fucked her, Mira crying out just as loudly.

Sado felt his end approaching quickly, not having recovered from the first hardly at all. He fought it back, reaching around under the clone's leg and lifting it, wrapping it over his shoulder before reaching back down and beginning to quickly rub circles over her clit. She screamed, hips bucking and insides quivering. Then, within a few more thrusts, her hips jerked violently, her juices spraying out as her insides clamped around his member, making his end speed toward him rapidly. He tried to fight it back, but after a couple of seconds, he rammed into her one last time, pumping her channel full of semen. He pulled out, dropping into his chair and sighing just as Mira came, the clone drinking her juices greedily. Then, the clone straightened up, her and Mira kissing again before looking to Sado.

"You're not done yet are you?" Mira asked.

"Yeah, we've got tons more stuff to try," the clone said.

"I can barely keep up with one of you," Sado complained. "Not two."

Mira smiled, walking over and kissing him, biting down on his lip and sucking it into her mouth, running her tongue over it. As usual when she did that, he was hard again in seconds and she released his lip, smiling.

"Much better," Mira smiled. "I want to try something new now."

"What's that?" Sado asked.

Mira looked to the clone, who covered her nethers before golden light shone beneath her hand. Mira lifted her hips, settling onto Sado's member as the clone pulled her hand away, her clit having grown into a cock, the exact same size as his own. Mira leaned forward, reaching back and spreading her ass cheeks, allowing the clone to walk over, using her own juices to lubricate her new appendage before lining up with Mira's back door, pushing into her and entering to the hilt, Mira moaning loudly, clinging to Sado. Sado stared at the sight with a mixture of emotions. Then, Mira began to bounce on the two cocks, the clone thrusting in time with Mira's bouncing, since she was the only one who could move, though she had to hold a sort of half-squat. It was a very weird feeling, being able to feel Mira's clone's penis rubbing against his own inside of Mira with only the thin wall of flesh between the two holes separating them. On the other hand, having both holes filled was clearly driving Mira wild, her head tilted back and her breaths coming in ragged gasps and pants with cries of pleasure mixed in randomly. It also had the added effect of making Mira's holes tighter from the lack of extra room. After a moment, Sado wrapped his arms under Mira's legs, standing and beginning to thrust into her, alternating his thrusts with the clone so that they were pistoning into her, Mira screaming in pleasure as they did. Sado began to suckle at her neck, forming another mark, like a growing tally of how many times they had had sex on their vacation.

Suddenly, Mira's holes both constricted, Mira screaming as Sado and the clone both groaned, thrusting into her harder and faster. Mira lifted her head, kissing Sado frantically and messily, before pulling back and biting down on his shoulder, clinging to him, nails digging into his back. He hissed in pain, slamming into her. Then, finally, he buried himself inside of her, his member erupting half a second before the clone did the same thing in Mira's other hole. Once the clone had finished emptying herself into Mira, the appendage began to shrink until it had returned to normal. Then, the clone fell backward into a chair, panting.

"I think I'm about out of magic," the clone said.

Sado sighed in relief, now seated in his chair again as his softening member slipping out of Mira, who was straddling his lap, head resting on his shoulder and gasping for breath. "Please tell me it's over. I don't think I can take any more of this."

Mira moaned, kissing his neck lightly. His member twitched, beginning to slowly harden again as the clone shimmered and faded. Sado groaned as Mira shifted her hips, rubbing her slit along his member.

"One more," Mira moaned.

Sado sighed, carrying Mira to the bed and laying her down, lining up with her ass and pushing in, Mira moaning weakly. He began to thrust into her slowly, feeling about ready to pass out himself, only for Mira to begin rocking her hips against him, wrapping her legs around him. He began to thrust into her faster, Mira moaning as he did, and after a few minutes, he pulled out, Mira rolling over without question, managing to lift her rear, her head and shoulders remaining on the bed. Sado pushed back into her, thrusting quickly again, pulling her hips back against him each time. He grit his teeth as he did. His member ached. His balls ached. And he was sure he wouldn't be able to move the next day as lame as his legs felt. Finally, he felt Mira's insides begin to spasm around his member again, his own end hitting him, what little semen he had left flooding into her. Then, his member softened again, slipping out of her and he collapsed on the bed beside her, Mira falling onto her side, her back facing him, and moaned, gasping for breath again.

"No more," Sado said. "I can't."

"Agreed," Mira groaned. "That's...enough."

Sado sighed, rolling onto his side and wrapping his arms around her, pulling her back against him. Mira sighed contentedly and both passed out quickly.

* * *

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	91. Chapter 91

I do not own any of the original Fairy Tail characters.

* * *

Warning

Sado yawned, sitting up and wincing. As he had expected, he was sore all over. Mira was still asleep beside him, so he pushed himself up, walking over to the box and lifting Faith out of it, brushing her off. She made a quiet trilling, purring noise and brushed her hand against his and he smiled, petting her. He set her on the counter and pulled out the food, beginning to cook. Thanks to having been around them when they were alive and were considered pests by the humans and an annoyance by him, he knew they ate literally anything, quite helpful since there was no bird food around. He tore a sausage link into small pieces and set them in a pile in front of Faith, watching her eat while he cooked. After a few minutes, he finished, piling the food on two plates and holding them with his left hand, carefully picking up Faith with his right and walking back to the bed. As he sat down, Mira stirred, looking over at him and smiling, reaching up and petting Faith, pushing herself up slowly, wincing as she did, then accepting her plate. As they ate, Mira leaned on Sado's shoulder, both taking turns feeding Faith. Once they were finished, Sado carried the plates to the sink, washing them before pulling on a pair of boxers and pants, leaning back against the sink and tossing a communication lacrima into the air, the lacrima expanding and Makarov's face appearing in it.

"Hello Master," Sado said. "How're things back at the guild?"

"They're going quite well," Makarov smiled. "How's your vacation?"

"Amazing," Sado smiled. "Exactly what we needed after the dragons and the Celestial Spirits."

Makarov nodded. "Well, enjoy yourselves. I'll call you if we need anything."

Sado nodded and Makarov ended the call from his side. The image shifted, showing Porlyusica's face instead. Porlyusica raised an eyebrow.

"You haven't used one of these to call me for a while," Porlyusica said. "Something wrong?"

"No," Sado said. "Just wanted to call and thank you for your advice, and everything you've done for me."

"So I take it you told her," Porlyusica guessed. "It's actually good that you called. I've found a couple of things out."

"Oh yeah?" Sado asked. "What's that?"

"Firstly, about your immortality," Porlyusica said. "You remember how I told you that your blood cells couldn't age any more than you could?"

"Yes," Sado nodded.

"Your cells are aging," Porlyusica said.

Sado's eyes widened. "Wait...you mean..."

"You're mortal," Porlyusica said. "Proof that you're no longer truly a devil."

Sado smiled widely. "That's great! Thank you so much! What was the other thing you found out?"

"There's a chance," Porlyusica said, Sado's jaw dropping open.

"How?" Sado asked.

"Firstly, since you're no longer a true devil, you may be able to as is," Porlyusica said. "However, I'll need to run a few tests to be sure. If the tests come back negative, I've found a sort of ritual that will allow it. As it turns out, you're the second devil to decide to be human. Though, unlike with you, that devil did so by choice, not by amnesia. Anyway, he supposedly created a ritual to allow him to have a human infant. However, the ritual itself is a bit dangerous and difficult to perform. I'll tell you the specifics about it if your tests are negative."

"Tell me now," Sado said.

"Fine," Porlyusica sighed. "One devil of every primary element must be gathered together and sacrificed. Their blood then has to be ingested by the demon wishing to have a human child. The elements will all cancel each other out, to include the devil's own element, for about an hour, allowing for a human child. However, the ritual may end up killing you. I honestly don't know."

"That's amazing!" Sado smiled. "That's wonderful news. Thank you so much! I'll be there later today for the tests."

"Bring Mirajane," Porlyusica said. "I'll need her for the tests as well."

"Absolutely," Sado nodded. "Thanks again!"

He ended the call and put the lacrima away, walking back to the bed where Mira gave him a curious and expectant look.

"I'm mortal," Sado smiled, Mira smiling as well.

"That's great!" Mira smiled.

"It gets better," Sado said. "Porlyusica said that it's possible that we won't need to adopt."

Mira's eyes widened and she shouted in excitement and joy, throwing her arms around him. He hugged her back, picking her up and spinning before setting her on her feet, Mira wincing and nearly falling.

"I didn't think I'd be so sore," Mira smiled. "Come on. We should shower and go see her."

Sado nodded, helping her to the bathroom and they both cleaned up before heading back, changing into something clean before Sado picked up Faith and Mira shifted into her She Devil form, both taking off and flying toward Porlyusica's home. They walked inside and Porlyusica turned toward them, nodding.

"I'll need blood samples from each of you," Porlyusica said. "As well as a sperm sample from Sado."

Sado blushed, then grimaced at the thought of having to provide one when his entire body still ached from the day before. However, about five minutes later, Porlyusica was studying her samples, which had actually been a lot longer a list than she initially said, also having added tissue samples from skin, eyes, and places that should never have tissue samples taken. Sado grimaced as he and Mira both gagged down healing lacrimas to replace the tissue samples and stop the pain of having the samples taken. Finally, Porlyusica sat back, remaining silent and expressionless for a long while.

"Would you like the good news or bad news first?" Porlyusica asked.

"Bad news," Sado said, suspecting what she was going to say.

"The bad news is..." She turned, staring at him in silence several long seconds. "You're going to need glasses by the time you're thirty."

Sado blinked twice before his face contorted in confusion.

"The good news is, you don't need to go devil hunting any time soon," Porlyusica said, Sado and Mira's eyes widening. "Congratulations. You can have children now."

Both began to cheer and cry at the same time, hugging Porlyusica and each other. Porlyusica sighed, smiling slightly and hugging them back. After several seconds, they released her.

"Thank you so much!" Sado smiled. "How can I ever repay you?"

"For starters you could never hug me again," Porlyusica said. "And then you can get out of my house."

Sado smiled. "I'm serious. There has to be something."

"If you really want to repay me, bake me a cake," Porlyusica said. "It's been a long time since I've had one."

"Absolutely," Sado smiled. "It'll be the best cake you've ever eaten."

"It had better," Porlyusica said. "Oh, also, deal with the visitor."

"Visitor?" Mira blinked, less than a second before Sado was in front of her, a wall of his flames incinerating Porlyusica's door as it sailed across the room at them.

"Well well," the silhouette in the door, decidedly male, spoke. "So he's actually here after all. And here I thought I'd miss him again."

"Who are you?" Mira demanded.

"I'm an old acquaintance of your boyfriend's," the man said, stepping into the house, the light from outside failing to silhouette him any longer. He wore black pants, an "X" shaped scar across his chest, and a black splint-mail sleeve on his right arm with a retractible blade on the inside of the forearm. "You can call me Scar. I knew your boyfriend when he was still turning Brain into Zero, and teaching him about Nirvana."

"He did what?" Mira asked, confused.

"Hell if I know," Sado said. "The years just before I lost my memory are still fuzzy."

"I'm glad I found you," Scar grinned. "There's something you need to know."

"What's that?" Sado asked.

"There's another Devil Slayer, and he's got his sights on you," Scar said.

"Who is it?" Sado asked.

Scar simply grinned. "You know how to make a lacrima charged with magic, right? Like Laxus's Lightning Dragon Slayer Lacrima, for example. Natsu might want one. And so might Gajeel."

"Why?" Sado asked.

"The Nine Demon Gates of Tartaros have risen," Scar said. "The evil of Zeref's books will soon be upon you all."

"Zeref?" Sado asked. "His books?"

He looked to Mira, who shrugged. He looked to Porlyusica, only to see her glaring at Scar.

"And which side will you be on?" Sado asked.

"The winning side, of course," Scar said. "Just like I always was. I wish you luck, Fire Devil. And if you somehow survive the coming storm, I'll make you a lava shot for old times' sake."

"Lava shot?" Sado blinked.

Scar laughed before stepping backward out of the doorway and turning, dust kicking up from the ground and obscuring their vision before settling, Scar gone.

"Mira," Sado said. "I think it's time for us to head back."

"I agree," Mira nodded. They both said goodbye to Porlyusica, heading outside with Faith and flying back to the guild hall.

Once there, they walked inside, finding Makarov at the bar. Sado walked over to him, Makarov setting his mug down when he saw Sado's serious expression.

"What's going on?" Makarov asked.

"Someone from my past found us and gave us a warning," Sado said. Tartaros is on the move, and they have something to do with the Book of Zeref."

Makarov nodded. "That has been a suspicion of the guild masters and the Magic Council for some time. As for them being on the move, I understand. We'll start preparing at once. And I'll warn the rest of the guild masters."

"I think Natsu and Gajeel should create Dragon Slayer Lacrima of their magic and have them fused with their bodies, like Sting and Rogue," Sado said. "It'll make them stronger and more ready when we fight Tartaros."

"Perhaps," Makarov nodded. "For now, we'll work on training them as is."

"Right," Sado nodded.

He sighed as he and Mira both walked to the bar. The vacation had been fun while it lasted. But if Scar was right, it might be the last one for a while.

* * *

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	92. Chapter 92

I do not own any of the original Fairy Tail characters.

* * *

Special Request

Sado looked around the guild hall. Laxus was off to the side, and Sorano was beside him with Yukino and Lisanna. Sado walked over, Laxus smirking.

"Taking a break from mating season?" Laxus asked.

"Tartaros is on the move," Sado said, Laxus's smile dropping instantly, the others nearby turning to him as well. "We need to start training now."

"Right," Laxus nodded. "Well, Ur's away spending some quality time with her boyfriend and girlfriend both, so I suppose we're going to have to pick up the slack, right?"

"Yes," Sado nodded. "Sorano, I'd like you to train with us."

"Sure," Sorano nodded.

The four of them left the city, Lisanna and Yukino following to watch. They all stopped once they were a ways away from the city, Laxus taking a moment to concentrate before spiking his power to max. Sado nodded, looking to Mira, who did the same, now in her She Devil form. Once both were at their max power, Sorano raised her hands, taking a combat stance as spheres of light appeared around her hands. Sado smiled. She'd been training with Makarov after all. He took a combat stance of his own, lighting his fists on fire. Then, he nodded. All three were off in an instant, Laxus being the current strongest, since Mira wasn't using one of her stronger forms and had lost her Fire She Devil form, so when they attacked, he focused on control, matching their power blow for blow, each cancelling out rather than overpowering each other. As they fought, he noticed a trend. Sorano attacked him only when he was busy fending off Laxus. Laxus attacked only when he had his power low enough to cancel Sorano's attacks, and Mira attacked him almost relentlessly. He smiled. They made a good team. Angel actually _would_ be a good addition to Devil's Claw, if it still existed.

Finally, he flipped over their attacks as all three struck at once. Then, he landed on his feet and stopped as a messenger jogged over with a paper. He accepted it, scanning it, eyes widening.

"Where are Natsu and Gray?" Sado asked.

"They're on their way back from a job," Mira said. "Why?"

"They have an emergency job request," Sado said. "From Warrod Sequen."

"Oh my!" Mira gasped.

"Those two?" Laxus asked. "What could he possibly need from them?"

"Something he can't handle that they can?" Sado asked. "Something's not right."

"Who is it?" Sorano asked.

"The fourth-ranked Wizard Saint," Sado said. "One of the Four Gods of Ishgar."

"Wow," Sorano breathed. "Fair Tail must be famous for one of them to be asking for help."

"That, or it's some kind of trap," Sado said.

"I doubt that," Mira said. "He's a Wizard Saint, after all."

"So was Jose, and Siegrain, a.k.a. Jellal," Sado pointed out. "It's not impossible to think a Wizard Saint's a traitor. However, given who Warrod Sequen is, I doubt it's that simple."

Mira nodded and they all headed back, giving Makarov the mission request, Makarov falling silent as he read and reread the paper. Finally, he looked up at Natsu and Gray, who Erza informed him had spent three days fighting each other on their last mission, and now were refusing to work together.

"Natsu, Gray, you're both going on this mission, and you're going to work together to the best ability that your puny minds can manage!" Makarov snapped, interrupting the pair's argument. "This special request is from Warrod Sequen, one of the Four Gods of Ishgar."

"I'll go with them," Sado said. "I can keep them in check."

"I'll go too," Erza said.

"I'll help," Lucy volunteered.

"So will I," Mira said.

"Very well," Makarov nodded. "Sado, take this. If you decide it's necessary, use it."

He handed Sado an empty magic crystal, the kind that could be charged with a type of magic to grant its use. Sado nodded and slipped it into his pocket, turning and leaving the guild hall with Mira, both heading to her house, packing for the quest before meeting the others at the train station. A few hours later, they were walking along a dirt road, heading for Warrod's home. Sado was walking between Natsu and Gray, keeping both of them silent. Finally, Wendy, who had also tagged along, spotted the house. It was old, small, and with trees growing out of it. Sado knocked on the door, pushing it open.

"Hello, is anybody home?" Lucy asked.

"We're from Fairy Tail, we came about the job request!" Erza called out.

"I've never seen so many house plants," Carla said.

"It's an honor to meet you, Lord Sequen," Sado greeted, staring at the wizard in question as he bowed slightly, also looking around the room.

The house felt a bit bigger on the inside, even with a massive tree a hundred feet wide in the middle of it. Warrod was tall, with wooden skin and leaves in place of hair.

Warrod shushed them. "Hush. Be silent would you? And stop bowing." He was watering several plants. "Plants prefer peace and quiet, so kindly do me a favor and shut your retched mouths." He lifted the water can, smiling as light began to shine through the clouds above them onto the closed flowers. "Aw. Just kidding."

The flowers began to pop open rapidly, several at a time as the light began to cover more and more of the room. Warrod turned to them, smiling widely.

"Come on kids, it was just a joke," Warrod said. "Lighten up. It's my belief that plants and flowers adore the sound of the human voice." He began to laugh, earning a scowl from Gray and Natsu and blank stares from the others.

"He's definitely not as funny as he looks," Natsu said.

"A tree?" Lucy asked.

"You're telling me this guy's a Wizard Saint?" Gray asked.

"I bid you welcome wizards from Fairy Tail," Warrod greeted. "The monster may stay so long as he behaves."

"I was wondering if you recognized me," Sado said.

"It's hard not to," Warrod said. "You reek of devil. Anyway, thank you for traveling such a long way. No tell me, who amongst you are called Natsu and Gray?"

Natsu and Gray stepped forward, only to stop as Warrod held up Happy and Carla.

"My goodness," Warrod said. "You're a bit more feline than I imagined." He grinned, beginning to laugh. "Got you again! You're so gullible."

After several seconds of Warrod being doubled over laughing, Sado sighed, rubbing his eyes.

"He's still laughing at that?" Gray asked.

"So, can we make fun of him or something?" Natsu asked.

"Only if you feel like dying," Sado whispered. "Trust me, you don't fuck with one of the Gods of Ishgar unless you're suicidal."

"Laughing sure got me thirsty," Warrod said, beginning to drink out of his water can.

"Excuse me, sir?" Sado asked. "We're here to discuss the request you sent?"

"Oh, yes," Warrod nodded. "Please, join me outside."

They all walked outside, sitting or standing around a picnic table.

"I'm returned now," Warrod said. "And I spend my retirement returning the deserts of this land back to life."

"Retired you say?" Erza asked. "Can I take that to mean you belonged to a guild once?"

Warrod laughed. "Yes, and a great guild it was. But that was a long time ago." He held out a hand, a flower growing out of it. "These days my allegiance is to nature. Every retired man needs a hobby. Mine is turning deserts into forests. As you can imagine, I've seen many peculiar things traveling about the deserts of this land. Most recently, I came across a village hidden in the mountains. As it turned out, I had read about this place before. Known as the Village of the Sun, its people worship an ever-burning flame as their guardian deity."

"They've got a fire that never goes out?" Natsu asked.

"They do," Warrod nodded. "But when I got there, the whole place had frozen over. Be it by nature, or the folly of man, every person, plant, and creature, all the buildings too, and the river were solid ice. Even the Sacred Flame of the village was frozen. Though it burns on even now."

"That sounds like a devil," Sado said, Scar's words returning to him, Mira seeming to be having the same thoughts.

"Perhaps," Warrod said. "But I did not sense any evil from that place. As I recall, that also was not the territory of an Fire Devil, or an Ice Devil."

"Where was it?" Sado asked.

"About twelve hundred miles south of here," Warrod said. "As a crow flies."

"That's Enzo's turf," Sado said. "He's a Nature Devil. Plants and shit, kind of like Azuma, except more powerful and annoying."

"I hope we don't have to fight him, then," Mira said.

"What can you tell us about the village's current state?" Sado asked.

"I have no idea what happened to the people there," Warrod said. "However, one thing was clear to me: that they're still alive!"

"I thought you said they were all frozen," Happy said.

"None of this makes sense," Carla said.

"They weren't the target of the attack," Sado said. "Just collateral damage. It was the flame that was the target."

"The people of that village are in dyer need of help," Warrod said. "They must be restored. That is why I called on you. Break the curse of ice. That is your task."

"No problem," Natsu said, stomping on the table. "I'll just melt the ice! Those people will be real toasty real soon!"

"If that's all you needed, then why'd you ask for both of us?" Gray asked.

"Because," Warrod said. "This ice is far from ordinary. It will take more than fire alone to melt it."

"Needless to say, we'll do what you ask...but," Erza stared at him. "You're one of the strongest wizards alive. Surely if we could handle this so could you."

"I believe you may be under a certain misconception about my rank," Warrod said. "Despite the heavy title, we Wizard Saints are far from omnipotent. We're just ten people the council chose to put on top of a list. There are many wizards on this continent that surpass me. And there are wizards beyond this continent that surpass even them. Take your devil friend for example. If I had to gauge him as a Wizard Saint based on raw power, I'd wager he'd be third, maybe second."

What about the Nine Demon Gates of Tartaros?" Sado asked.

"They're monsters," Warrod said. "They're not human at all."

"But you're a Wizard Saint," Lucy said. "You've got to be powerful."

"Yes, but I have no aggressive spells to speak of," Warrod said. "In a battle of might against youngsters like your friends, I wouldn't stand a chance."

"Even so..." Erza said, standing.

"Everyone has their strengths and weaknesses," Warrod said. "This is what inspires people to forge alliances. And then form guilds. Wouldn't you agree, my dear?"

"You're as wise as I imagined," Erza smiled.

"Spoken exactly like a founding member of Fairy Tail should," Sado smiled, Warrod chuckling.

"That was a long time ago," Warrod said.

"A hundred years," Sado said. "Give or take. You're almost a quarter as old as me."

Warrod laughed again. "I'm glad you're not who you used to be. You seem like a good person now."

Sado smiled and nodded.

"We accept your job request," Natsu said, fist-bumping Gray.

"We'd be glad to help," Gray agreed.

"What he said!" Lucy grinned.

"Leave it to us," Wendy said.

"It might take us a while to get there," Carla said.

"Nonsense," Warrod said. "The least I can do is help you reach the village. Gather there, all of you." He pointed at an area off tot he side with a stick. "Be sure you aren't leaving anything behind."

"What's he going to do?" Happy asked.

"Perhaps he has some kind of magical vehicle," Carla guessed.

"Appreciate it, but I'm just going to walk," Natsu said.

"Suck it up and do as he says," Erza said, pushing Natsu over to the area, the others walking over.

"Now then, everyone ready to go?" Warrod asked.

"Wait," Natsu said. "So it isn't a vehicle?"

"Pivot right!" Warrod said, everyone turning, Happy turning the wrong way. "You're just as gullible as always."

"Hey!" everyone shouted.

"I leave this task in your hands, youngsters of Fairy Tail," Warrod said, golden light beginning to shine from under him. "Should you face yourselves in this journey, I ask you to look closely. Do this and you will overcome whatever obstacles may fall before your path."

Then, a giant green tree exploded up from below them, ground rapidly, all of them on several clumps of soft pink leaves. Then, once it towered over the mountains they had been in, t bent, shooting through the sky and over the land, streaking southward far faster than they could travel any other way.

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	93. Chapter 93

I do not own any of the original Fairy Tail characters.

* * *

Regression

Sado stepped off of the tree, looking around. In front of them, barely twenty feet away, the ground was covered in pink ice, which stretched as far as they could see through a trench. He looked around and spotted a half-frozen humanoid made of roots lying on the ground off to the side.

"Enzo!" He gasped, running over and dropping to a knee. "What happened here?"

"Slayer," Enzo croaked, barely audible at all. "Demon...Gate."

Then, he wilted, turning brown and shriveling. Sado stood, sighing and shaking his head.

"Was he a friend of yours?" Mira asked.

"No," Sado said. "We hated each other. But I was kind of hoping he'd survive this. Since he didn't, we have no eye witnesses except the village itself."

Mira nodded and they all started through the trench. After a short while, they reached the village. Warrod had understated the way it was frozen. Nothing was in a giant block of ice. It looked more like everything was turned _into_ ice. And there were no people.

"It's strange to think something could freeze this so perfectly," Lucy said.

"Strange," Erza said. "Warrod said all the people were frozen. I don't see anyone. Wonder where they are."

They stopped, staring at massive frozen men before them, all of them nearly ten times their height.

"Giant!" Natsu shouted.

"Shut up!" Sado hissed, everyone staring at him. "Something's not right here. I don't think the guy that did this is gone yet."

"Let's try to wake him up," Natsu said, walking over to one of the giants.

Sado stood on the other side of the giant's foot, which was as tall as they were, sending flames over the foot, pushing the heat. However, after nearly five minutes of nothing, both let the flames end.

"Devil Slayer Magic," Sado growled. "We're not melting this ice."

Gray stepped forward, placing his hand against it, ice magic beginning to spread from his hand, not trying to freeze or break the ice, but more inspecting it. Sado sensed their company before anything else.

"No way, I think I recognize the source of this magic power," Gray said.

"Look alive," Sado said, turning and looking to the top of a nearby building. "Company."

"Well well well," one of the three men said. "Some uninvited guests."

The one who had spoken had shoulder-length silver hair parted down the middle with a black sweatband, a long-sleeved black shirt tucked into his black pants, which had the knees ripped out, a green fabric strap around his left bicep, and what looked like a sniper rifle slung across his back. To his right was a man with black hair spiked up into two spots per side like four horns, a white jacket with the sleeves rolled halfway up his forearms over a black tee-shirt, and green pants tucked into his red knee-high boots. He had a tipless double-edged sword across his back. The last had an abnormally large face that reminded Sado of Ichiya, except less revolting, with a large round nose, a chinstrap beard, a dark grey ascot, a brown sport jacket with a green collar, white pants with two black stripes running up each pant leg in front and a black rectangle around each knee, then a gigantic black fist-shaped object with red fingers attached to his back.

"Every job has its shockers," the first said.

"I didn't expect it to be kids and their pets, though," the second said.

"Get lost!" the third said. "Ya dig?"

"Who're you?" Erza asked.

"The treasure-hunting trio, baby," the first said.

"The Sylph Labyrinth guild," the second said.

"Ya dig?" the third said.

"Very well," Erza said.

"Sorry kids, but we've had dibs on the treasure here for a while now," the first said. "Why don't you go find your own?"

"Not interested," Natsu said.

"I think we're just fine staying here," Gray said.

"Oh ya think so?" the first asked, pulling his rifle off his back. "I think you should leave, unless you want to be target practice."

"We're not even after treasure," Sado said. "Relax. It's all yours. We have a different agenda."

"Not looking for treasure!?" the second scoffed. "There had to be something that brought you all the way out here."

"We came to free all of the villagers, so we're going to melt this crazy ice," Happy said.

The three treasure hunters looked at each other before nodding and looking back at Sado and the others as the first and second shouted, "Then you're totally here to get in our way!"

"Ya dig!?" the third shouted.

"Do you know how to say anything other than that?" Sado asked, already hating the man for not talking like a normal human.

"I'm sure you've heard about the eternal flame that's been burning here for centuries," the first treasure hunter said.

"Even among the most novice treasure hunters, the flame is considered an S-Class treasure," the second said. "It's totally legendary."

"Ya dig?" the third asked.

"If I hear the words, 'Ya dig' one more time, I'm going to roast your friend like a goddamn turkey," Sado growled.

"That's a little harsh," the first said.

"Then keep him quiet," Sado said. "Yes, we've heard of the flame. And thanks to the giants that guard the village, no one's been able to get near it. So now that they're all frozen, you plan to steal the flame and get while you have the chance, right?"

"Pretty much," the first nodded.

"Okay," Sado nodded. "That's a fair plan. Plenty of good points. However, here's my counter point." He lit his hands on fire, forming it into a pair of phoenix wings as he knelt. "I'm Fairy Tail's Phoenix, and if you don't leave, I'll blast you all into oblivion."

"You're..." the first stared at him before laughing. "Yeah right! You're just a fancy Fire Magic user who can make it look like he has wings. Anyway, we're going to go melt the ice around the Eternal Flame with our secret treasure so we can steal it now."

"You gonna make us guess?" Natsu asked as Sado let his wings fade and stood. "What is it?"

"Liquid Moon Drip," the man said, holding up a bottle with a blue liquid inside.

Gray and Natsu shouted in surprise and fear and Sado formed a Fire Make Whip, snatching the bottle out of the man's hands. The man shouted in surprise and Sado let the whip fade.

"Leave," Sado said. "Last warning."

"We're not going anywhere without that flame!" the second said.

"Alright," Sado said. "You want flames, you can have them!"

Natsu grinned, leaping into the air and firing off a Fire Dragon Wing Attack at the same time as Sado sent a massive fireball at them. Just as the flames exploded and sent the three treasure hunters flying, Faith shrieked from her place in his pocket. He looked up, seeing something flying above them. It looked like it might be some kind of bird, except for the fact that its head was round, furry, and had a mouth full of pointed teeth under one single eye. The person he sensed on top of the odd creature was what made him stare, however.

"Minerva," he snarled, everyone staring at him, then up at the creature.

"You're sure?" Erza asked.

"Positive," Sado growled. "I'd remember her power anywhere. That bitch is here."

Just then, Erza began to shine. They all turned to her as the light faded and she began to shrink, her armor falling off and leaving her in a black shirt that was now long enough to be a skirt and a pair of black boots. Sado swore. He looked around, stopping as he saw a man wearing a white shirt with a purple "V" on the front and black sleeves, a black bandanna mask with a sinister grin painted onto it and stretching all the way across, black hair in a bushy pony tail, and black pants. The man strode out of the trees calmly, extending a hand.

"Regress," the man said. "Become a shadow of your former self."

Natsu and Mira began to shrink next, both rapidly shrinking until they were children again. Sado grabbed the sides of Mira's dress as she grabbed the front, keeping it from falling off as she finished reverting to her child form, complete with her old hair style from when she was still a bully.

"Please tell me you have an outfit that fits," Sado said.

"Sort of," Mira smirked.

Then, she shifted into her She Devil form, the clothing of the form leaving less exposed now than in her adult form.

"Regress," the man said, Sado beginning to glow. "Become-"

He stopped as Sado crashed into him fist first, the light fading and sending him crashing into a tree, shattering it.

"That's a horrible idea, and I'm not going to sit here and let you do that to me. Trust me, it'd be the last thing you ever do."

"You'd kill us all," Erza said.

"If he went back to before you lost your memory, would you still have the same control as now?" Mira asked.

"Not risking it," Sado said, sniffing and freezing. "This guy...He's...he's a demon."

"Like you?" Mira asked.

"No," Sado said. "Like Deliora, except weaker. He's from the Books of Zeref."

"Not bad," the man said, pushing himself up. "You know your shit. Fire Devil."

"Oh, I'm going to burn you to a crisp," Sado snarled, passing Faith to Lucy. "Keep her safe."

Lucy nodded and Sado turned back to the demon as he lit his hands on fire.

"You don't know who you're dealing with," the man snarled. "I'm Doriate. I'm a member of the dark guild Succubus Eye."

"Oh good," Sado grinned, the fireballs around his hands growing larger. "I was afraid you were someone dangerous, like Tartaros. I'm glad I was wrong."

Doriate lunged, punching at him, only for Sado to duck under it, drilling his fist into Doriate's gut and sending him flying backward, exploding through a building. As he stood, a sphere that Sado knew all to well flew at him from the side, only for him to smash his devil hand into it, shattering it.

"No," Sado snarled. "I'll fight you both if you want, but I'm not going to let you live this time, you traitor bitch." He glared at her, and the Succubus Eye emblem on the left side of her stomach.

Minerva smirked. "If you think I haven't gotten stronger since the last fight, you're wrong."

"If you think I care, you're a fucking cunt," Sado snarled. "Oh, that's right. You are!"

Then, he exploded into her back before she had even realized he moved, the ground all but exploding beneath him. He stood, lifting Minerva by the face and Minerva snarled in rage, shoving her hand outward. An energy blast the same color as her spheres exploded into his chest, hurling him backward. He stood, tearing his ruined shirt off just as Doriate appeared over him, bandanna missing and revealing tusks jutting out of his lower jaw and grey fur around his mouth. He threw a punch downward at Sado, only for red hair to wrap around his hand, halting it. He looked to the side, seeing Flare Corona off to the side, staring at Doriate with her usual psychotic expression.

"Hello Flare," Sado said, seeing the crest of the Village of the Sun on her chest where her Raven Tail emblem used to be. "Handle him for me. I have a bitch to cook."

He turned back to Minerva just as a sphere appeared over her hand and Faith fell into it, a knife appearing in the other hand, held to Faith's throat.

"So," Minerva grinned. "Are you willing to watch the last Phoenix die?"

"Go right ahead," Sado said. "After all, I'm the one who killed the rest of them. Feel free to do me a favor and kill that ugly chicken."

Minerva snorted in amusement, driving the knife into Faith. However, the moment she did, Faith exploded into a fireball, hurling her backward. Sado smirked as the real Faith stuck her head out of Sado's pocket, then pulled it back. Sado appeared behind Minerva, grabbing her by the hair and lifting her before smashing her face back into the ice again and again and again.

"I've had more than enough of you, you fucking cunt!" Sado snarled. "Just die already!"

He froze before he could slam Minerva's head down again. It was suddenly Erza's head in his hand. He lifted her to his feet as Erza looked around, confused. Then, they spotted Minerva, flying through the air on a sphere while trading shots with Mira, both avoiding the other's attacks. Sado extended his wings just as Mira was blasted. Erza caught her and exploded into the air, launching fireballs out of his palms in a constant stream at Minerva, who avoided them, the fireballs fizzling out just past her. Finally, Sado shot toward her, flipping past several spheres before crashing into Minerva fist first. She blasted into the ground just before Sado crashed down on top of her, beginning to pummel her. Suddenly, a roar rang out and Sado spun as everyone began to glow white. He swore loudly. Doriate had changed, adopting his true form. His muscles were massively enhanced, his upper body now double what it had been, to the point that his shirt had ripped off. His tusks had grown massive as well, and he had gotten claws on his fingers and toes.

Then, the light faded, and Sado looked around. Vermin. Pests. disgusting humans everywhere he looked. He looked down at his hands and grimaced. Even he looked at one. He focused, forming his true hands, feet, horns, armor, and wings. Much better.

"Everywhere I look there's vermin," Sado said. "I should roast all of you alive for thinking you deserve to stand in my presence. Clearly you've forgotten who I am."

"No, _you've_ forgotten!" Mira said, landing in front of him.

"Well well," Sado grinned. "You're quite small for a devil. What are you, a strange form of succubus?"

Mira shifted back to normal, using Transformation Magic to make herself look like her adult form, complete with her dress. "Sado...it's me!"

"Who the hell is Sado?" Sado scoffed. "My name is Agni."

"No!" Mira snapped. "Your name is Sado! You're our friend! You're the man I love! And you're the best person I know!"

"Shut up!" He shouted, lunging forward, throwing a punch. He froze as a tiny red object landed on Mira's head, staring into his eyes unflinchingly, despite barely being old enough to fly. A phoenix. He hated phoenix's, but somehow, this one seemed...different.

Mira lifted Faith off of her head, holding her out. "Don't you remember? She's the last of her kind. She was a gift to you. Please! You have to remember! We were going to start a family! You can't just forget!"

He stared at her, the tears flowing freely down her face, and the desperation in her eyes. Then, his eyes fell to the necklace she wore. A string of diamonds with a lacrima in the center, a tiny flame flickering inside. He knew that flame. He could sense his own power inside of it, except, somehow different. It felt lighter. Brighter. It felt warm. Not in the sense of a temperature. His own fire was hotter than any other he had seen. But that fire was somehow warmer than his. In a way he couldn't quite place. He looked back up at Mira, who held a hand to the necklace.

"You gave me this," Mira said. "You gave me this as a promise that you would always be there for me when I needed you! Well I need you now!"

He stared at her before slowly turning to Doriate.

"What are you waiting for, Fire Devil?" Doriate asked. "Kill them! I thought you were some feared being, who used humans for target practice just to pass the time. Why are you hesitating?"

Sado blinked slowly. "I don't take ordered from you."

Then, he swung his arm, an explosion of pure white flame shooting out of his hand and swallowing Doriate, exploding through the village and then the mountains outside of it, miraculously missing all of the giants. As soon as the flames had engulfed and incinerated Doriate, Sado blinked, his devil traits fading as he fell to his knees, bending forward and vomiting. He coughed, then slowly stood, wiping his mouth and looking around at his once again adult friends, then at Minerva.

"I'll say it once," Sado snarled. "Leave."

Minerva vanished into one of her spheres instantly. Sado sighed, falling to his knees again. A moment later, Faith landed in front of him, rubbing her head against his leg, Sado smiling and petting her. Then, Mira had her arms around him, Sado tucking his face into her shoulder and holding her against him.

"Thank you," Sado said. "You saved me."

Mira squeezed him slightly and pulled back, Sado standing with Faith in his hand. He slipped her back into his pocket and turned to Flare.

"I think Gray might be able to melt the ice," Sado said. "We should start with the Eternal Flame. Can you show us the way?"

Flare nodded, smiling. "Sure."

"How does she know the way?" Lucy asked.

"I was raised here," Flare said. "The giants found me in the woods and raised me here as though I was one of their own. But I knew I was different, so I left. Raven Tail found me and offered me a job, so I accepted. I had no idea what people were like, so I thought their hatred toward your guild had to be justified."

"I see," Lucy nodded. "Thank you for your help."

Flare smiled again and nodded, turning and walking away, the others following.

* * *

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	94. Chapter 94

I do not own any of the original Fairy Tail characters.

* * *

Atlas Flame

Sado walked over to the giant mountain of ice. It was spikes oddly, like a flame had been frozen, which is exactly what had happened. He turned, looking to Gray.

"You're up," Sado said. "Channel the magic from the ice into your body, then use that magic to melt it."

Gray nodded as Faith stuck its head out of Sado's pocket, shrieking. Sado looked up, seeing the demonic bird Minerva and Doriate had arrived on flying down at them. He formed a Fire Make Bow and pulled it back, an arrow forming.

"Get lost," Sado snarled, releasing the arrow and allowing it to punch straight through the bird, which crashed to the ground, cracking it.

Sado turned back to Gray as he began to shout, the ice beginning to evaporate all over the mountain. Then, all at once, it exploded into a cloud of steam. As the steam faded, however, there was no flame in sight.

"No," Flare breathed. "This isn't real."

"What have I done?" Gray breathed.

"Relax," Sado said, sending a blast of flame through the air to clear the rest of the steam. "The ice weakened it considerably, but Natsu can save it."

"What?" Gray asked, Sado pointing to the center of an altar, where a flame barely taller than they were was burning.

"Natsu, feed him," Sado said.

Natsu leapt into the air, beginning to launch a constant barrage of fireballs, Brilliant Flames, Wing Attacks, and finally a Crimson Lotus, Exploding Flame Blade. As the dust began to clear, the Eternal Flame was burning high into the sky once again. Sado smiled. Natsu had Happy fly him up toward the top of the flame as Wendy began to use Milky Way on the flame.

"Hey there Uncle, how you been?" Natsu asked, Atlas Flame allowing his face to show.

"Well met Son of Igneel," Atlas Flame greeted him. "Aside from being imprisoned in ice, I've been good."

"It's Atlas Flame," Erza said.

"Oh yeah, the dragon from the Eclipse Gate," Lucy said. "The one that helped us fight Future Rogue."

"The Eclipse Gate was closed, sending all of the dragons back to their own time," Erza said.

"That's right," Atlas Flame said. "It sent us four hundred years into your past. And all that time I've burned on."

"I didn't know you were still alive," Natsu smiled. "You must be ancient."

"But you look so youthful," Happy said, clearly afraid of the dragon.

"Ancient, yes," Atlas Flame nodded. "But alive? No, far from it."

"Atlas Flame has been dead for centuries," Wendy said. "I used my Milky Way spell to give form to what was left of him."

"I thought as much," Atlas Flame said. "I don't recall dying. But I do remember life. And this isn't what if felt like."

"So, are you not all there, or what?" Gray asked.

"I don't have the perspective to say," Atlas Flame said. "But my memories are clouded and muddled. Where am I? What place is this?"

"I'd be forgetful too at your age, relax," Natsu said.

"You'd be dead at my age, son of Igneel," Atlas Flame said.

"The ice is what caused your memory to be clouded," Sado said. "It was Devil Slayer Magic. Nasty stuff."

"Ah, the Fire Devil," Atlas Flame said. "How have you been?"

"Good," Sado smiled. "Anyway, like I said, the ice blocked some of your memory."

"Ice, yes," Atlas Flame mused. "All around me. I didn't know what cold was until then."

"About that, could you tell us how everything got like that?" Natsu asked.

"Please, sir, I need to know," Flare said. "You see...I used to live here."

"Hm..." Atlas Flame hummed. "His intentions were not evil. But he mistook me for something I am not."

"He thought you were a devil," Sado said. "So he was trying to power up?"

"That's right," Atlas Flame nodded.

"Wait, power up?" Natsu asked. "How?"

"Devil Slayers can gain strength by consuming demons' souls," Sado said. "He meant to consume Atlas Flame's, except that Atlas Flame wasn't actually a devil, so he left."

"Everything's fading," Atlas Flame said. "I can't remember. Who am I?"

"Our deity!" Flare said. "You're the guardian of this village! Atlas Flame of the titans! Hear my plea, I beg you! Warm this village with your light and banish the ice! Be the guardian you always were!"

She began to sob and Sado sighed, looking up at Atlas Flame, who stared at her.

"Flare," Lucy breathed.

"I have no right to ask this," Flare cried. "Please save my family!"

"Guardian, you said," Atlas Flame mused. "Yes. I was a dragon once but I died and became the flame of the titans! I created this village."

"You did?" Natsu asked. "Nice! Glad it's coming back to ya."

"It pains me to see it suffer so," Atlas Flame said. "If I had a single drop of moisture in me it would leak out from my eyes. With what strength of spirit I have left, and the fire I received from the Son of Igneel, I will burn this ice away." His flames began to rage over him, his power skyrocketing. "For I am more than Atlas Flame the Fire Dragon. I am also Atlas Flame of the Titans!"

He began to throw off so much heat that Sado himself actually felt it. Lucy complained about being too hot so Gray began to cool her with his Ice Magic.

"Igneel, the Dragon King Festival, Acnologia, and Zeref," Atlas Flame listed. "I remember now. I remember everything! Four hundred years ago, your father fought the strongest, most vile demon in the Book of Zeref. That monster's name is E.N.D. and not even Igneel had the strength to slay it."

The ice began to vanish in a wave heading outward from Atlas Flame. Sado watched it go as Atlas Flame's words replayed in his head. E.N.D. Zeref's most powerful demon. Etherious. No doubt about that. He looked back at Atlas Flame, but he was gone, a normal, endlessly burning flame in his place. Sado sighed, looking around at the others.

"Come on," Sado said. "We should go check on the giants."

The others nodded and they left for the village.

* * *

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	95. Chapter 95

I do not own any of the original Fairy Tail characters.

* * *

Declaration of War

Sado sat in silence for a long while, the others waiting patiently.

"Come on already!" Natsu said. "You said you'd tell us about E.N.D.!"

"Okay," Sado sighed. "E.N.D. is Zeref's most powerful demon. There was a rumor a long time ago that it actually had the power to kill Zeref himself."

"No way!" Wendy gasped.

"It's that strong?" Lucy asked.

"Impossible!" Natsu said. "Why would he create something that could kill him?"

"I don't know," Sado said. "Maybe it was an accident. Maybe not. Anyway, E.N.D. isn't just a demon. It's an Etherious, just like the rest of Zeref's most powerful."

"Etherious?" Natsu asked.

"Think of it like an upgraded demon," Sado said. "They're made entirely from Zeref's power. They were also sealed within a set of books, The Books of Zeref. Each book is for a specific demon. One for Deliora, one for Lullaby...one for E.N.D."

"So, if someone had the book, they could just summon the demon at will just by reading it?" Natsu asked.

"That's right," Sado nodded. "However, controlling them is a different matter entirely."

"So...Tartaros has one of the books?" Gray asked.

"Probably," Sado nodded. "It seems likely. Possibly more than one."

Just then, the door burst open, Jet and Droy running in, Jet waving a rolled up newspaper.

"Listen up everybody!" Jet shouted. "I've got horrible news!"

"What's wrong?" Makarov asked.

"The Magic Council's been completely annihilated!" Jet said.

"What!?" Makarov demanded, snatching the newspaper and reading it before letting it fall.

Sado picked it up. "The entire building was...blown up?"

"They're all gone," Makarov breathed before rage filled his face. "This is an act of war!"

"Tartaros will pay for this!" Sado snarled.

"I'll send for the guild masters," Mira said.

"Hurry," Sado said.

Mira hurried out of the room and Sado sighed, looking around. They weren't ready for a war with Tartaros.

"Master," Sado said. "I think it's necessary."

"Do it," Makarov said. "For both."

Sado nodded and Makarov handed him a second lacrima as he pulled out the one he had from before. He hand the lacrima to Natsu and Gajeel.

"Charge them until they're full with your magic," Sado said. "But be careful not to overfill it. They'll explode if you do."

Both Dragon Slayers concentrated, charging the lacrima. After a moment, they both finished and Sado took them, Makarov walking over and forming a spell circle on both of their backs. Sado and Makarov both pressed a lacrima against its respective Dragon Slayer's backs, the lacrima beginning to sink into them as magic energy began to fly off of them, both screaming in pain.

"Bear with it guys!" Sado shouted over them. "This will make you a lot stronger!"

After several more seconds, both finally finished, the two Dragon Slayers passing out, Sado and Gray catching them.

"Take them to the infirmary to rest," Makarov said. "And pray we didn't just make a grave mistake. I pray the magic isn't too much for them to handle."

"They'll be fine," Sado said. "Don't worry about it."

Just then, he felt a spike of terror and agony lance through his brain and dropped Natsu, two words filling his mind: "Hargeon," and "Bane."

He sprinted out of the guild hall, extending his wings and blasting off of the ground instantly, completely ignoring the others. Seconds later, Mira was beside him as Sitri. Within minutes, they were hovering over Hargeon, staring at the thick black mist filling it.

"Hold Faith," Sado said, passing the phoenix to Mira. "I can hold my breath longer, so I'll go in."

"Please be careful," Mira said.

Sado nodded, taking a deep breath and flying down into the bane particles and grabbing Evergreen, and Yajima. He flew back up, passing them both off to Mira before flying back in, grabbing Laxus, Freed, and Bixlow. Once he was free of the particles, he and Mira flew back toward Fairy Tail, Sado using a single finger to control a tongue of flame to activate a communications lacrima. Porlyusica appeared in the orb.

"The Thunder Legion was exposed to Bane Particles," Sado said. "We're taking them to the guild hall."

"I'll meet you there," Porlyusica nodded, the call ending and the lacrima falling.

When they reached the guild hall, Sado and Mira carried Laxus and his team inside, taking them to the infirmary and decontaminating themselves to be safe before taking Natsu and Gajeel out of the room. A few minutes later, Porlyusica was there.

"You can save them, right?" Makarov asked. "You can fix them?"

"I'll do what I can, but they were all heavily exposed to Bane Particles," Porlyusica said. "Far smaller exposures than theirs have proven lethal in the past. Recovery is possible, but not guarantied, or even likely. Laxus's case is many times worse than the rest. It's a miracle he's lasted this long."

Everyone stared at them in disbelief. Finally, Freed moved.

"Master," Freed croaked.

"I'm here," Makarov said.

"Be proud, sir," Freed croaked. "Laxus...saved the whole town."

Sado's heart fell. They didn't know. They didn't know that the entire town was quarantined, or that over a hundred were already dead.

"Mist...Mist everywhere...would have killed us all...if...he hadn't..." Free struggled to find the strength to speak.

"You'll tell me later," Makarov said. "You did well getting them back home, now get some rest."

"So much poison..." Freed croaked, coughing. "And Laxus breathed all of it in...so it wouldn't...reach the...town."

Makarov looked away.

"The people...are fine," Freed more pleaded than anything. "Aren't they? They _are_ safe?"

Makarov's hands curled into fists, so Sado stepped forward.

"They're fine," Sado said, smiling. "Laxus saved everyone. He's a hero."

"Then...it was worth it," Freed smiled, a tear leaking from his eye.

"Now you need to rest," Sado said. "Otherwise, how will you help Laxus when he wakes up?"

Freed nodded and allowed himself to fall asleep again. Natsu turned to the door, clenching his fist so hard his veins stuck out and he began to bleed.

"Well Master?" Sado growled. "There's no Magic Council to stop us going to war. What do we do?"

"For now, we can't do anything," Makarov said. "Fairy Tail alone can't defeat Tartaros. We need to gather as many allies as we can first."

"I sent the message to gather here before Sado and I left," Mira said. "Everyone responded."

"Good," Makarov nodded. "Once they arrive, we'll discuss our plan for battle."

"I'll keep Natsu in check," Sado said. "The moment he wakes up and finds out about this, he'll be out for blood."

"Right," Makarov said. "For now, I want everyone to prepare."

"Right," they all nodded.

Then, they all turned, leaving to make whatever preparations they needed.

* * *

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	96. Chapter 96

I do not own any of the original Fairy Tail characters.

* * *

Late

Sado punched the wall, cracking it. Mira wrapped her arms around him, pulling him backward, away from the wall.

"I'm sorry," Sado sighed. "I just..."

"I know," Mira said. "I want to make them pay too. But losing your temper won't help."

Sado sighed, resting his forehead against hers. "I'm sorry. I love you Mira."

"I love you too," Mira smiled, slipping her hands into his, lacing their fingers together. "We'll get them. But for now, all we can do is wait."

Sado nodded, and Mira kissed him. He kissed her back happily. After a few more seconds, she released his hands, reaching up and slipping her dress off before reaching to the bottom of his shirt. He pulled back, allowing her to pull it off before sweeping her up into his arms and carrying her to the bed.

* * *

Sado watched as everyone began to prepare to leave. The guild was being sent to protect the former council members they knew the locations of, thanks to Loke having slept with the right people to coincidentally find out. Porlyusica had also warned them all that she needed a sample of blood from whatever had released the poison that affected the others, which they only knew they could get because Freed had woken again long enough to mention tornados and something being reborn at Tartaros. They weren't waiting for the Guild Masters. The Guild Masters were sending their mages to reinforce Fairy Tail in place.

Finally, Makarov took the stage and everyone gathered around to listen.

"Today we go to war!" Makarov shouted. "Our foe is a pillar of the Baram Alliance! As strong as Grimoire Heart and the Oracion Seis! But they should have learned from their allies mistakes! For by the time we're done! The bloodied remnants of their guild will look back on this day and rue it! For this is the day they made an enemy of Fairy Tail! They've attacked our brethren. They pain they caused is mine and yours. The blood they've spilled is our blood. Now it is time for the blood not shed to boil. For our pain to feed our burning rage! Let us fight not for justice, but for the thunder in our souls! I make this oath for the honor of our guild! Fairy Tail will destroy this foe!"

Everyone began to cheer and Sado remained silent. He wasn't being fully honest. Tartaros wasn't as strong as Grimoire Heart _or_ the Oracion Seis. It was stronger than both. It was stronger than both of the others combined. They would be in horrible danger for the entirety of this war, even by their usual standards. A few minutes later, Sado, Mira, Sorano, Elfman, Lisanna, and Yukino were all heading out, all going to protect a former council member named Yuri. They found the home. The village itself was fine, but Yuri himself was dead.

Sado knelt as the others discussed what to do. It was odd. Yuri had no external injuries, but he was definitely dead.

"I don't get it," Sado said. "There are no injuries. Even internal ones. By all rights, he should be alive, but he's not. It's like he just commanded his heart to stop beating."

Just then, Yuri's eyes flew open and he sat up, starting everyone.

"Master Yuri!" Elfman gasped. "You're alive! I checked your pulse and..."

He stopped as Yuri stood, pointing at the communications lacrima Lisanna was holding. Sado looked back and forth between them for a moment before his finger flashed and the lacrima exploded.

"What do you think you're doing!?" Elfman demanded. "That was our only way of reaching the guild!"

Then, Yuri fell to his knees and tipped forward, landing flat on the floor. Sado stared at him and checked for a pulse again, finding nothing. Again.

"Did he just die all over?" Elfman asked.

"That was creepy," Lisanna said.

"I _did_ try to make it look convincing," a calm feminine voice said from off to the side, everyone spinning and staring at the woman sitting in the next room who definitely wasn't there before. "But a corpse is a corpse."

The woman wore black boots and black thigh-high stockings with a white border at the top, a blue robe with loose sleeves, blocky black markings over it, and which hung a little more than halfway down her breasts with a point at the top over each breast, a second green point of fabric reaching up from under it but covering no more than the blue robe itself did, a white strip of fabric around her neck and tied into a knot in the front, and had odd black tattoos on her shoulders and one on her forehead which resembled an eye, a white hairband in her long raven hair, and a pair of gold horns reaching out from the sides of her head then curving upward. She held a book in her hands and had a pleasantly neutral expression on her face. Despite that, the moment Sado's eyes found her, every hair on his body stood on end, and a cold crawling sensation squirmed over his skin, his muscles tightening, making his body stiff and unresponsive.

The woman sighed as Elfman and Lisanna stepped up to the door.

"Are you from Tartaros?" Elfman demanded.

"Tell us what you did to Master Yuri now!" Lisanna demanded.

"The old man already had one leg in the Nether World, I merely helped him along," the woman said in that smooth, soft, melodic voice that set Sado's skin crawling like a million ants were scurrying over him.

"Then stayed to play with his corpse?" Elfman asked.

"These fairytales are quite tall," the woman said, closing the book she had been reading and sighing. "They all end so happily. About as entertaining as watching blood dry." she set the book beside a stack of others on the table beside her, standing. "What your kind needs is a demon tale."

"Lisanna, are you ready?" Lisanna asked.

"Yeah," Lisanna said, just as Elfman's hand closed around her neck. "Hey, what are you doing Big Brother?"

Sado's gut dropped. They couldn't sense it. The woman's power. Her control. This wasn't magic. It was a curse. It was Zeref's power. She was a demon. No. Worse. She was an Etherious.

Elfman's hand began to squeeze, Lisanna struggling to break free, Elfman struggling to stop.

"This isn't me!" Elfman said. "I'm sorry! I can't control it! Someone, help!"

Mira shot forward, shifting into her She Devil form and pried his hand off of Lisanna instantly, Lisanna coughing and leaping back. Then, Mira leapt back as well, Elfman massaging his hand and glaring at the woman.

"What the hell was that?" Elfman demanded.

"Curse," Sado said, his voice frail and quiet, dripping with fear.

Everyone stared at him.

"Sado?" Mira asked. "What's wrong?"

"She...She's...Etherious," Sado said, staring at her.

"Oh shit!" Elfman said, taking a step back. "We'll have to be careful."

"I'll...I'll...fight her," Sado said, feeling like it took every ounce of strength he had just to speak.

Breathing was growing harder by the second, and when he tried to summon flames to his hands, only a tiny flicker appeared. He couldn't tap into his Devil Magic, or form his devil traits. The woman raised an eyebrow, watching him.

"Now this is a surprise," the woman smiled.

"Sado, are you okay?" Mira asked, worriedly.

"Well well, a human, in love with a Fire Devil," the woman smiled. "Come. Let's see if this Fire Devil has what it takes to fight."

Sado forced his body to move, to take a step forward. Instead, he fell to his knees, flames going out before he pitched forward, catching himself on his hands as sweat fell from his face and he gasped and panted for breath. His entire body trembled and the woman laughed.

"It seems your precious demon knows his rightful place," the woman said. "Tell you what. I'm feeling generous. So I'll let you live, but in exchange, you have to hand over your pet demon and his girlfriend. They'll accept Kyoka's enhancements very well, I suspect. In exchange, the rest of you can leave."

"No way!" Elfman spat. "You're not going anywhere!"

"We'll never let you-" Sorano stopped as Sado grabbed her arm.

"Just go!" Sado said, still shaking. "We'll be fine! But you need to escape!"

Sorano stared at him, then his hand. Then, she nodded. "Okay. We'll come back for you!"

She turned, grabbing Elfman's hand as Yukino obediently grabbed Lisanna, the sisters dragging their friends away from Sado and Mira. Sado slowly managed to raise his head, staring at the woman as she walked toward them, Mira stepping in front of him.

"Just so that you know," the woman said. "My name's Seilah. And now, you're both going to be coming with me."

Then, Sado's vision faded to black as his body finally gave out under the weight of his terror.

* * *

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	97. Chapter 97

I do not own any of the original Fairy Tail characters.

* * *

She Devil vs Etherious

Sado opened his eyes slowly. He was chained to a wall, along with Erza, Ur, and Mira. However, the three women wore nothing, and Sado was wearing only a pair of boxers. Standing in the center of the room was a woman with a tight purple outfit that was cut low on her massive chest, then cut off high on her hips, leaving a thin strip to pass between her legs, where it was even thinner in the back, similar to a thong. With it, she wore a half-cape of stretched purple hexagons, a white hemet with a large purple jewel set into the ground, a black face mask attached to the front of the helmet, thigh-high black leg coverings that stopped about mid-calf where her legs turned into bird legs, a strip of white cloth extending from behind her shoulders to the ground, a pair of purple sleeves with odd, grey hands formed into claws extending from them, and a pair of green feathered wing-like objects sticking out of the sides of her helmet. Looking at the obvious Etherious filled Sado with as much fear as being around Seilah had.

"Well well," the woman smiled. "The Fire Devil awakens. Good. I was rather hoping you'd be awake for this. You see, I have a special kind of curse that I use specifically for interrogation. It makes a home in my target's pain sensors and sets them to overdrive."

She held out a hand, her index finger rowing into a long, glowing, neon-green whip with green electricity flickering off of it every couple seconds. Then, she spun, snapping the whip against Mira's abdomen, earning a scream of pain.

"Stop it!" Sado shouted, rage momentarily blocking out his fear, only for him to find himself unable to control his flames. He looked up, sensing Bane Particles in the shackles.

"You catch on quick," Kyoka smiled. "That's right. Those shackles are infused with Bane Particles. You won't be using magic any time soon. So, I'll ask a question, you answer it. If you answer it truthfully, I won't hurt your friends as much. First question: Which of these women means the most to you?"

"Mirajane!" Sado said.

Kyoka spun, snapping the whip against Mira's stomach again. Again Mira screamed. Again Sado thrashed against his restraints.

"Good," Kyoka smiled. "I'm glad you're willing to play along. Next question: Where is Jellal Fernandes?"

"I don't know!" Sado said. "I swear! no one knows!"

"Wrong answer," Kyoka snarled, turning.

She began to whip all three women rapidly, targeting the more sensitive areas, like their breasts and inner thighs. On Mira specifically, she went so far as to target Mira's womanhood.

"Stop!" Sado pleaded. "I don't know! I don't know! I swear I don't!"

Kyoka finally stopped whipping the others and sighed. "I believe you. So, miss Mirajane. What about you?"

"I...I don't...know," Mira panted, all three women sobbing and barely conscious from the pain.

"Very well," Kyoka said. "I'm really only keeping you here for entertainment anyway. Erza's the one that I really care about. Guards!"

Two soldiers entered the room instantly, both standing so stiff that Sado could tell they were almost as terrified as he was.

"Take the demon and his whore to the vats," Kyoka said. "I need to speak with these two alone."

The soldiers bowed before removing Sado and Mira's shackles from the wall, dragging them out of the room and then down a hallway. Sado kept track of the twists and turns they took, desperate to get any kind of information he could. Finally, they reached a room where numerous vats were sticking out of the ground. In two, there were Etherious being grown, or maybe regrown. In a third, Minerva was floating, roots attached to her nude body, the roots thankfully covering her. Sado and Mira were both chained to a bar in front of a vat, then raised over it. A moment later, Kyoka stepped into the room, waving a hand. Agony lit up Sado's body as a handful of roots wrapped around him, attaching themselves to him, the same thing happening to Mira. Then, they were lowered into the vats and the liquid began to glow, Sado feeling his strength leaving him rapidly, taking his consciousness with it.

* * *

Sado opened his eyes as he felt his strength returning. The first thing his eyes were able to make out, was a crack in the glass of his tank. Then, beyond that, he saw Mirajane, nude and pulling a hand back to break his tank. As soon as it shattered, he spilled out, Mira catching him and pulling the roots off of him. Sado rolled, vomiting a thick black sludge instantly. After several seconds, he managed to regain control and pushed himself up, concentrating then spitting out lava, using it to clean whatever was left out of his mouth.

"What happened?" Sado asked.

"They were trying to use demon blood to change us," Mira said. "The demon blood woke me up, but it seems like you weren't able to have the same reaction."

"No more than a blood transfusion would wake up the average human," Sado said. "That blood's nasty though."

"You meany!" a voice shouted, Sado looking around at a young girl with short black hair, a pair of black bunny ears, a fluffy white coat, a purple tie saying "1/16" and a pair of black pants and boots. Again his skin began to crawl.

"Etherious," Sado breathed.

"It's alright," Mira said. "She's not really that strong."

"It's...not..." Sado stopped, falling to his knees. "I...can't. My devil side...whatever's left of it...can't."

"I see," Mira nodded. "Alright. Then I'll protect you this time."

Then, she shot forward, not bothering to transform, and slammed a kick into the Etherious, sending her crashing through a couple tanks before she rolled to a stop against a third.

"Mira!" Lisanna called out. "Mirajane?"

"Over here!" Sado called out.

Lisanna ran into view, hugging Mira just as Sado's skin began to crawl again.

"She's here," Sado breathed, both turning to him before looking up as Seilah descended, sitting on Sado's back like a chair.

"Stay put like a good little devil," Seilah said. "I saw that my gift reached your guild, but that it was too late."

"Gift?" Mira asked.

"She took control of Big Brother Elf again after we left," Lisanna said.

"I sent your brother back to Fairy Tail to wipe it off the map," Seilah said. "Thanks to him, your guild hall is nothing but a pile of embers. But every member of Fairy Tail still breathes. His mistake is my failure."

Sado struggled to move, but his body remained motionless. It was like he couldn't move if he wanted to. Seilah's ability returned to his mind. That had to be it. He refused to accept that it was just cowardice.

"I was humiliated, and in front of Kyoka no less," Seilah said. "Your brother will pay, and the blood of his sisters will be the price!"

"You're right," Mira said. "There _is_ a blood price to be payed."

Sado recognized the tone of voice as well as the look in Mira's eyes. She was pissed.

"Yours," Mira snarled, shifting into her She Devil form.

Mira charged instantly, only for Seilah to raise her arms, a couple dozen books appearing around her in a flash of light. Then, they shot at Mira. She slashed her way through, throwing a kick at Seilah, who smirked, blocking it, then throwing her arms outward, Mira flipping backward.

"You're trying to get me away from your pet demon, aren't you?" Seilah asked. "Alright. Sure. I'll move."

She knelt down, gripping Sado's upper arm and lifting him, turning him to face her. Sado struggled to make his body move. Seilah grinned wickedly, looking to the side at Mira before looking back at Sado.

"You're quite the handsome devil, you know that?" Seilah asked, grinning wickedly. "I can see why your whore is so infatuated. I order you to kiss me. If you're good enough, I might even keep you alive once Face steals your magic power."

Sado felt his body starting to lean forward and grit his teeth, fighting her control. He could sense it. He knew she was using her curse. But he had to break her control. His body began to tremble, quickly starting to shake more noticibly.

"Oh, I think he's fighting it," Seilah smiled.

"I...won't...do it!" Sado snarled, struggling to break her control. "I...refuse! You can't...control me!"

"Do it," Seilah said.

Sado felt her control strengthen. He fought to break free, but the more he fought, the stronger her control grew. Then, finally, he lost. His body leaned forward and kissed her. Mira shrieked in rage, Seilah vanishing just ahead of a blast of dark magic. Sado, having been less than an inch from where the magic passed, staggered backward, spitting and wiping his mouth. Seilah laughed from off to the side, books once again around her, countless shredded ones on the ground around Mira and Lisanna. For the first time, Sado realized that she had been using books to keep Mira from interrupting. A thought clicked in his head. She couldn't control more than one person. Or maybe she just couldn't control Mira.

Mira fired at Seilah again, making her dodge away from the blast before kneeling beside Sado. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah," Sado nodded. "I'm so sorry. I couldn't stop it."

"It's alright," Mira said. "I'm not mad at you. But I'm going to tear her limb from limb."

"Strangle her," Seilah ordered.

Sado's hands went to Mira's throat almost before he could stop, however, he was able to fight enough to keep his grip loose. Mira glanced at him, seeing the effort and pain in his expression. Resisting Seilah's control felt different this time. His head was screaming in agony, and he could practically sense the smile on Seilah's face. So that was the game. Either he kill Mira, or the effort of resisting would destroy him. Still he fought. He refused to harm Mira. She pulled his arms away from her throat, kissing him for a moment, before kneeing him in the gut, dropping him to his knees. Seilah didn't look impressed.

Mira flew at Seilah, attacking her rapidly, both with physical attacks and her darkness magic, blasting or slashing any books Seilah threw at her. To her credit, Seilah's books _did_ pack enough of a punch that they were shattering the floor when they hit it, so it was understandable for Mira to be struggling. Suddenly, the ground began to shake violently.

"It's begun," Seilah sneered. "In a few minutes, Face will activate, and wipe out all magic on the continent."

"Don't be so sure," Mira said, continuing to attack Seilah.

As the fight dragged on, the Etherious Mira had knocked out before grabbed Lisanna from behind.

"Get her off of me!" Lisanna shouted.

"Stay there you pathetic coward!" the Etherious snapped, Sado's skin crawling as his body refused to respond again.

He didn't understand how these Etherious could control him so easily. Why was he so afraid of them? He wasn't even a devil anymore. After several minutes, Lisanna threw herself backward into a tank, the girl falling off as Lisanna stalked over to Sado, lifting him by the collar before slapping him.

"Wake up dammit!" Lisanna snapped. "I thought you were supposed to be brave!"

Sado grit his teeth, squeezing his eyes closed.

"Lisanna," Mira said, still fighting Seilah. "It's not his fault. It's basic instinct. He can't fight it no matter how hard he tries."

Lisanna rolled her eyes, dropping him as the shaking slowly stopped. However, Sado didn't feel any magic power leaving him. He looked up, seeing Mira still fighting Seilah. A thought occurred to him. If Face was stopped, then the Etherious guarding it would have been destroyed.

"Mira!" Sado called out. "The vats! They can revive each other whenever they get killed!"

Mira stopped, shifting back to normal, complete with the same short, tight, yellow dress she had been wearing before they were captured, and looking to Seilah. "Is that true?"

"It is," Seilah nodded. "I'm impressed you knew about that."

"It's hard not to," Sado said. "One of those tentacle demons you stuck to me earlier was really talkative."

Just then, Sado felt Mira's magic power spike as the tentacles, or roots, or whatever they were, began to explode, destroying the tanks rapidly. As they did, an Etherious with blue skin and spikes for hair appeared in one vat, only for it to explode, and a second that looked like a huge green ball with a single eye appeared and exploded a moment later. Sado smiled.

"That's impossible!" Seilah shouted.

"It seems plenty possible to me," Mira said. "I used my Take Over Magic. I just controlled your little Tentacle Demons."

"This human can absorb demons?" Seilah gaped. "That must be the problem. Why I can't use my Macro curse on her."

"Frustrating isn't it?" Mira asked. "I was hoping I'd be able to absorb you too, but for some reason it's just not happening. It's kind of weird how you and I seem to be having the exact same problem." Mira crouched, shifting into her Sitri form. "So, hand to hand combat huh? Sounds like fun to me."

"Sitri!" Lisanna cheered. "Good idea sis! Use your ultimate demon form!"

"You've gotta be kidding me," the Etherious Lisanna had been fighting snorted. "Ultimate demon form my butt. You _do_ realize who you're dealing with, right?"

"Seilah here's the real deal," the Etherious said. "A demon straight from the books of our Dark Lord Zeref himself."

"Obey my order," Seilah said, Sado sensing her power focused around her own body for some reason.

"That won't work," Mira smirked.

"Release my limiter!" Seilah shouted, curse power exploding off of her in waves, making her sleeves float above her arms.

Her body changed instantly. The light from her curse power hid her from view for a moment before fading slightly. Her legs were bent like a dog's hind legs, she had a pair of wings reaching off of her hips, her skin had turned a dark brown, her top had completely vanished, revealing jagged black lines reaching over her skin, the cloth around her neck had become a white choker with lace around the top and bottom, her ears were pointed, her eyes glowing gold, and her horns had become much longer and jagged. Then, in the blink of an eye, Seilah's fist crashed into Mira's gut, dragging her backward a hundred feet before sending her flying. Mira flipped, landing on her hands and feet and stopping herself just as Seilah reached her again, a glowing blue sphere of energy with floating blue characters around it appearing in the palm of her hand. Just before the blast fired, a hand opened in Seilah's palm. Then, the blast fired, hitting Mira directly and hurling her.

Sado's gut dropped, his blood running cold. As the dust cleared, he stared at Mira, reverted to her human form and kneeling on the ground. The Etherious Lisanna had been fighting, both her and Lisanna now lying on the ground after being thrown by the explosion, began to laugh.

"What'd I tell ya?" the Etherious asked. "Your sister never had a chance when she decided to go up against a legit demon."

"Then maybe another one can even the odds," Sado snarled, forcing himself to his feet.

He fought to get his body to respond and Seilah looked over at him, unimpressed by the tiny fireball in his palm. Truthfully, he wasn't either, but it was the thought that counted. Hopefully.

He hurled the fireball, only for Seilah to swipe it out of existence. Then, Sado sprinted forward, throwing a punch at her. It hit hard, but not nearly as hard as it should have. Less than half of his power was responding, and even that number was falling like a rock. Sado shouted in effort, forcing flames to coat his hands and pummeling them into Seilah. However after several seconds, she punched him, sending him flying backward into a wall. As soon as he hit, the other Etherious grabbed his arm and slammed him to the ground in an arm bar.

"You're not going to attack her again," the Etherious said. "Just watch. You'll love this part."

"I give myself this simple command, I must tear my opponent limb from limb!" Seilah shouted, beginning to slash at Mira with her claws, tearing at Mira's dress and skin rapidly.

Mira screamed in pain as she backpedalled, trying desperately to escape the onslaught. Finally, Mira was thrown backward, the rest of her dress blowing away from the tailwind of the last strike. As she crashed down on her back, she stared up at the ceiling.

"No!" Sado shouted. "Mira! Please! Wake up!"

Mira's head rolled to the side, her eyes meeting his as tears began to fall from them. Sado struggled to get away harder, but still his body refused to respond properly. Seilah stepped up over her and Mira's hand wrapped weakly around her ankle.

Seilah stared down at her in disgust. "Try as you might, you will never take control over me."

Mira looked to Sado again and closed her eyes, focusing. Purple light began to shine from her body and Sado's eyes widened.

"Mira you need to get out of here right now!" Lisanna shouted.

"What is this?" Seilah demanded as the light began to intensify. "Let go!"

Suddenly, there was a blinding flash of light and Mira was thrown away from Seilah, crashing down hard and rolling to a stop. Seilah shouted in rage, holding her hands out in front of herself, a sphere of blue curse energy forming before she separated her hands, holding them out to her sides, now with two spheres, both the same size and concentration as the first.

"Demon eyes!" Seilah shouted, the eyes on her hands opening as those on her face began to release a beam of light, Seilah's head tilted back. "Release!"

"Mira!" Sado shouted.

"This is the good part!" the Etherious holding him down grinned.

"Now die!" Seilah shouted, flying toward her.

"This Macro curse," Mira said, Seilah freezing, "Once you've controlled someone with it, you can do it any time you want. That's what you told me. Now, I order you! Sado! Destroy the woman, who threatens our child!"

* * *

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	98. Chapter 98

I do not own any of the original Fairy Tail characters.

* * *

Sample Recovery

"Now, I order you! Sado! Destroy the woman, who threatens our child!"

Sado's vision flared white. Flames exploded off of him, the Etherious previously holding him down screaming in agony, allowing him to explode into motion, his devil traits forming instantly. Seilah began to turn, but before she could, Sado's fist crashed into her jaw. Seilah crashed to the ground and Sado crashed down on top of her, beginning to slam his fists into her rapidly, a crater forming below them and deepening more and more with each successive punch. And still, he continued. After all, he had an order to complete. Not defeat, not kill. Destroy. And he would happily do so. Finally, after Seilah's face had long since been reduced to something barely recognizable as a face through the blood and swelling, Sado flew into the air, forming a pure white fireball and raising it.

"Stop!" Mira ordered, Sado freezing, glancing at Mira. "Let her live. We can use her for information later."

Sado nodded, letting the fireball fade before landing in front of her. "I need one more order. Tell me not to fear Etherious."

Mira gave him the order and he smiled, channeling her some of his Magic Energy. She sighed, sitting up and he hugged her. Then, he sat back, looking her in the eye.

"Mira..." he trailed off. "Did you...are you..."

Mira smiled, taking his hand in both of hers. "I'm pregnant."

"But...how?" Sado asked.

"That last day at the cabin," Mira said. "You were too tired and too exhausted to neutralize it fully."

Sado's eyes widened in surprise, then a smile slowly spread over his face as it finally set in fully. He threw his arms around her, cheering and picking her up, spinning. Mira laughed and wrapped her arms around him before he set her down, looking to Seilah with disgust.

"What about her?" Sado asked.

"I'll use my Take Over on her," Mira said, walking toward her. "It'll stabilize her and let her survive so that we can interrogate her later. It'll also allow me to use her power."

"What about our child?" Sado asked. "Will it have any lasting effects on him? Her? Them?"

Mira smiled. "We'll figure out the gender later. As for how this will effect it, it'll just mean that our child will be able to use Take Over Magic like me."

"And I'd be surprised if they didn't have fire magic like me," Sado said. "At the very least, I'm making them learn Fire Make Magic."

Mira giggled, then grew serious as she knelt, resting a hand on Seilah's forehead, purple light shining from Mira. Slowly, Seilah's face began to regenerate as white light shone from her. Then, the lights faded and Mira stood, nodding.

"Okay," Mira said. "I'm done."

Just then, Elfman, Warren, Jet, and Droy ran in, Sado quickly, using flames to hide Mira from their sight.

"Sado, that you?" Warren asked.

"Yeah," Sado said. "And Mira. I take it Sorano led you all here?"

"Used her Devil's Claw crest to track the two of yours just like you planned," Warren confirmed. "Good thinking. What's with the flames?"

"The fight was a bit...destructive," Mira said.

"Well we can see that," Elfman said.

"She means her dress!" Lisanna said. "Jeez. You guys are idiots."

"Oh," Warren said. "She can borrow my vest and pants if she wants."

"I think I have a better idea," Sado said. "The Etherious over there, is she wearing anything salvageable?"

"Nah, you torched this one pretty good," Elfman said. "She's charred."

"Yeah, you almost turned her to ash," Lisanna agreed.

"Alright, then I have another idea," Sado said, snapping his fingers and summoning his three hellhounds. "Fetch my clothes boys."

All three barked and ran off, taking different doors out of the room. A few minutes later, they returned with Sado's clothes, a pair of black pants, a black shirt, and a black trench coat. He passed the clothes to Mira, who accepted them and pulled them on. Then, Sado let the flames end and stood, walking over to the others with Seilah over his shoulder, Mira following.

"Here, we caught a prisoner," Sado said, dropping Seilah in front of them. "Mira won't let me kill her, so I'm going to go and find the bird bitch who tortured us. I assume you have no problem with me killing her, right?"

"By all means," Mira said.

Sado nodded but stayed where he was as Warren called most of the guild, reporting that the two of them had been found, and that they had beaten one of the Nine Demon Gates. After that, Lucy announced that Wendy had stopped Face, and Happy announced that the spirit of Hades had said Makarov needed to "unleash the light," which Makarov said was referring to the Lumen Histoire. Then, suddenly, Warren began to shout in pain, clutching at his head.

"Warren?" Sado asked. "What's wrong?"

"Please pardon the interruption, a voice said in his mind. "I wish to speak to the guild known as Fairy Tail.

"Did you just get hijacked?" Sado gaped. "Who the hell are you?"

"The Underworld King, Mard Geer," the voice said. "But knowing who I am won't save you, for none of you shall live to see tomorrow. Alegria."

Suddenly, the ground began to shake again and Sado's senses began to all but scream about Etherious all around them. However, instead of Etherious, all he was was some kind of dark red fleshy substance rising out of the floor and beginning to try to swallow them all, pulling them into itself. Sado growled in annoyance, flames exploding off of his legs, burning the substance away from him. He grabbed Mira, pulling her and her siblings into the safety of the circle he had formed. A moment later, it was over. Everyone else was covered by the substance, and looked like a face trying to stretch its way out.

"That's disgusting," Elfman said. "Can't you free them?"

"No," Sado said. "They've become a part of it. I can't help them now. Not unless Mard Geer dies."

"So we'll have to fight our way through the rest of the Demon Gates," Mira said.

"I'll do it," Sado said. "You all need to find a place to hide."

"I'm not abandoning you," Mira said.

"I'm not asking you to," Sado said. "I'm asking you to protect our family."

"Family?" Elfman asked.

Just then, Faith stuck her head out of Sado's coat pocket, trilling and looking up at Mira.

"Were you in there all this time?" Sado smiled. "Good girl. Look after Mira for me, okay?"

The bird trilled again as he gently stroked the feathers on its tiny round head. Then, he turned, walking away from them, toward the stairway Warren and the others had come from. As he walked, he heard Mard Geer's voice again.

"Demons of Tartaros, I have activated Alegria," Mard Geer announced. "The humans' lives have been snuffed out. However, three seem to have survived. We also have a handful of opening in the Nine Demon Gates. Whoever kills the humans shall be made a Demon Gate, and if a Demon Gate kills them, they shall receive an even greater reward. Good hunting."

Sado grinned, allowing flames to coat his hands just as several soldiers turned the corner. He held out a hand, sending a fireball that filled the hallway streaking toward the soldiers. The explosion shattered the walls and ceiling, and a moment later, more soldiers began to pour toward them from the hallway. Sado swung his arms forward, two walls of flame shooting past him and meeting halfway between them, turning into a massive explosion that devastated the hallway and incinerated all of the soldiers. Then, Sado dove forward, rolling out of the way of a tornado, which came from a hole in the ceiling and blasted into the ground where he had been.

He stood, turning toward it as it faded, leaving an Etherious with dark blonde hair, a muscular torso with a tight sleeveless shirt, a short piece of cloth hanging from the back of each bicep where a pair of leather straps crossed over each arm, a yellow cloth belt, and black pants and shoes. Sado readied himself, allowing his Devil Traits to form. The Etherious stared at him.

"You're not human," the Etherious said. "Lord Mard Geer, does the Fire Devil warrant a reward as well?"

"If you kill him, Tempester, I will give you the greatest reward of all," Mard Geer said.

"As you wish," Tempester said. "My Master has ordered me to kill you."

"So I heard," Sado said. "Tell me, do you possess the ability to transform into Bane Particles?"

"I do," Tempester nodded. "Have I killed some of your friends?"

"Not yet," Sado said. "But I _do_ need a sample of your blood."

He formed himself a Fire Make Sword and readied himself with it, Tempester cocking his head to the side.

"If you require a sample of my blood, then I must have used my ability on your allies," Tempester said. "If that is the case, they are as good as dead. Because no matter what you try, you cannot defeat me."

"Try me," Sado snarled.

Tempester shot forward, everything below his arms transforming into a tornado. As he reached Sado, he threw a punch, only for Sado to step aside, slashing at Tempester. Tempester avoided the blade, and swung around, transforming fully. Sado flipped over the tornado and held a hand out, blasting Tempester in the back, causing the tornado to fade as Tempester crashed to the ground, bouncing. Then, Sado's foot crashed into him and he flew away from Sado, blasting into a wall.

"Well well," a second voice said. "Too much for you, Tempester?"

Sado turned, staring at a man that looked like an older Gray with a suit of armor on and a large scar down the left side of his face. He knew this man. He was Gray's father. The Ice Devil Slayer that had frozen the Village of the Sun.

"Devil Slayer," Sado snarled.

"Fire Devil," the man grinned. "My name's Silver. And I fully intend to eat your soul."

"And I fully intend to kill you," Sado said. "You see, I recently found out that I'm going to be a father. And I'll be damned before I let anything threaten my family."

"You know, I always hated hearing devils talk," Silver said. "They always pretend to have emotions. It's disgusting!"

He punched at Sado, sending a blast of Ice Devil Slayer Magic at him, but he ducked under it, the blast narrowly missing Tempester instead. Then, Sado's fist crashed into Silver's chest, hurling him away. He spun, seeing a tornado streaking toward him and slashed with his claws, but the tornado dispersed, Tempester not being present. Then, he crashed down on Sado's back. Sado spun, grabbing Tempester by the throat and twisting, smashing him into the ground and punching him once before jumping, a blast of ice shooting between them, narrowly missing both.

He flipped, roaring and sending a jet of flames at Silver, only for Silver to roar as well, a wall of Ice Devil Slayer Magic crashing into his flames, both attacks exploding. Sado flipped, landing on his feet and glared at Tempester and Silver as Tempester stood.

"You're holding back, Silver," Sado said. "Even though you've only got one type, I can tell you're stronger than most of the other five Devil Slayers I fought, and one of _them_ had seven different elements, including death. You might actually be on that one's level with only one. I shudder to think of what would have happened if he had known to eat demons' souls like you do."

Silver grinned, raising a hand at his side, magic energy beginning to roll off of his palm. Tempester also raised a hand, a tornado forming around his arm. Sado growled in annoyance, forming a fireball in his hand.

"Let's go!" Sado shouted, launching the fireball, only for it to freeze.

A moment later, Tempester had sent it flying back at Sado. Sado caught the fireball and spun, slamming it into Tempester as Tempester reached him, smashing it. The moment it did, the fire remaining inside of it exploded, blasting Tempester through the wall. Silver glared at Sado as Sado smirked.

"Like I said, you're holding back," Sado said. "You've only been freezing things on the outside. Even if you froze me in that way, inside the ice, I'd be alive. Trapped, but alive. It was the same with the Village of the Sun."

Silver sprinted forward, throwing a punch at Sado with Ice Devil Slayer Magic streaming from his hand. Sado's own fist met his, pure white flames rolling off of it. The two magics cancelled out and Sado flipped, drilling a kick into Silver's chest plate, throwing him backward once again, this time with the chest plate cracked. Sado flipped and landed on his feet as Tempester grabbed him by the face. Sado knocked the arm away just as a tornado fired off of it, exploding through the wall to the outside world. Then, Sado slammed a punch into Tempester's face, blasting him backward. Before he could follow, however, the ground lurched, hurling him from his feet. Then, light blinded him as the flying cube Warren had informed them that they were on all but exploded.

As Sado's sight began to return, he looked around, finding himself outside, somehow. He was on a sea of debris, and floating in the sky above the far end, maybe a mile away, was the Celestial Spirit King. Sado felt his blood run cold. He knew the price of summoning the Celestial Spirit King. He had found it in a book explaining little known spells and magic types back when they had first visited the Celestial Spirit World for a party so long ago. If Lucy, or Yukino for that matter, had summoned him, that meant one of the twelve Zodiac keys were broken. He felt his heart clench. He had a sinking feeling he knew who had summoned him, and with whom.

Suddenly, a tornado crashed into his back, slamming him into the ground and dragging him along it for a ways. Finally, he flipped, knocking the hand away and flipping, landing on his feet. Tempester retracted his tornado, the hand at the end reattaching as he did. Sado growled in annoyance, looking around at the debris and the red flesh still clinging to it everywhere. He looked back at Tempester. He could sense Mira and the others. They were safe. And Elfman was fighting, though he couldn't tell who.

"Hang on Mira," Sado said, crouching. "I'll be there soon."

Then, he exploded forward, his phoenix silhouette forming over his body as flames exploded out of his legs. Tempester formed a tornado around each arm , the pair shooting forward and combining into a much larger one, blasting into Sado but doing nothing to stop him, Sado increasing the heat of his flames, bleaching them white. Tempester finally let the tornado end, forming one around himself and beginning to flee, only for Sado to crash into him anyway, the flames exploded and sending Tempester blasting into the ground. Sado crashed down on top of him, then flipped backward, Tempester coughing up blood.

"You're strong," Tempester said. "But you've lost this fight. All I need to do is di-"

Sado drove a Fire Make Sword down through his head, Tempester being killed instantly. Then, Sado transformed the sword into flames, cauterizing the wound closed to keep as much of Tempester's blood as he could before standing. He turned as he did, finding Silver striding toward him.

"You certainly took your time," Sado said.

"I'm afraid I can't let you leave, demon," Silver said. "But I thank you for killing him. I'll be sure to eat his soul for strength."

"I'm sorry, but I can't do that until I get his blood back to Fairy Tail's healer," Sado said. "After that, I don't care what happens to his soul, or his body. But I need to save my friends first."

"Your friends?" Silver snorted. "You're a demon, no better than Tartaros. What could you possibly understand about friends, or family, or love?"

"More than you, apparently," Sado said.

"Excuse me?" Silver snarled.

"Silver _Fullbuster_ ," Sado said. "Father of Gray Fullbuster. Your own son was swallowed up by Alegria, and you don't care. Your own son is in danger, and yet you're content to simply waste time fucking around with me. Some father you are. I may be a demon, but at least when my child is born, I'll actually be _there_ for him."

"How _dare_ you!?" Silver seethed. "You know nothing! Just die!"

He swiped a hand and Sado leapt into the air, sending a wall of flames out of his entire body, barely blocking enough of the oncoming wall of Ice Devil Slayer Magic to escape being frozen. Finally, it ended and he landed on the ice, readying himself. Silver wasn't fucking around anymore. So neither would he. Before he could charge, however, a massive beam of golden light began to shine from the sky, hitting the Celestial Spirit King. Sado and Silver both spun, staring. Then, golden light spread, shining from the ground all over the debris field. Sado felt Alegria weakening and smiled.

"Game's over," Sado said. "We should finish this fight now, before we're interrupted."

"What're you going on about?" Silver asked.

"You mean you can't sense it, mage?" Sado asked. "Alegria is weakening. The others will all be up and about soon."

Silver snarled in rage. Then, he and Sado charged. Sado ducked out of the way of Silver's punch, then slammed his own into Silver, throwing him.

"I told you!" Sado shouted, flying after Silver, hand cocked back again. "I won't let anyone, or anything, threaten my family!"

Flames exploded out of his elbow as he threw his punch, drilling it into Silver's face and sending him blasting backward through several massive chunks of debris. He hadn't killed Silver, but Silver would be down for a little while. In the mean time, Sado had to get Tempester to Porlyusica. He flew back to him, picking up his body and sensing around for Laxus's Devil Claw emblem. Once he found it, he flew that way.

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	99. Chapter 99

I do not own any of the original Fairy Tail characters.

* * *

Repayment

Sado knelt, dropping Tempester's body at Porlyusica's feet. Porlyusica nodded.

"Well done," Porlyusica said. "I'll start curing Laxus and the Thunder Legion right away."

"Good," Sado said. "I'm going to go and find some more Etherious to burn."

Porlyusica rested a hand on his shoulder to stop him and he sighed.

"I'll be fine," Sado said. "Did you know?"

"I did," Porlyusica said. "It wasn't my place to tell you."

"And what if it had been a devil?" Sado asked.

"Then I would have forced her to tell you," Porlyusica said. "Now, calm down, and go defend your family."

"I'm perfectly calm," Sado smiled. "I just still have to repay some half-bird bitch for torturing Mira."

And with that, he was off. He flew high into the air, inhaling as he went. Then, finally, he stopped.

"KYOKA! ! !" he shouted. "GET OUT YOU YOU FUCKING BITCH! ! ! IT'S YOUR TURN! ! !"

After several minutes, Kyoka finally stepped into view from behind a chunk of rubble. Her helmet was gone, revealing patches of skin-colored feathers on the edges of her forehead. Her green hair fell behind her back now, and she had swapped her old outfit for a more revealing one. This one had a top consisting of a dark purple collar with two strips of purple fabric reaching down over her breasts and wrapping around behind her, then attaching to her dark purple thong in the back. She wore a black belt with gold studs, and had dark purple feathers reaching from her bird feet at mid-calf to about a third of the way down her thighs, and from her freakish clawed hands to about mid-bicep.

"Well well," Kyoka said. "You've come a long way from too scared to move around an Etherious. You've got some nerve calling me out."

"You tortured Mira," Sado growled, landing in front of her. "I'm going to burn you to ash!"

"Let's see you try it," Kyoka smiled.

Sado shot forward, drilling a punch at her, only for her to swat it aside. He spun, swinging a kick at her, and she ducked under it. Then, she stood, slashing him across the chest. White-hot agony screamed through him as he fell to the ground. For a brief moment, his entire world fell away. He didn't remember who he was, where he was, or what he was doing. There was only pain. Then, the world began to return. Finally, he looked up at Kyoka, who grinned wickedly. Her curse power returned to his mind. This is what Mira had felt, except that she had been hit more than once. Many, many times more.

Sado stood, a sadistic grin growing on his face. This fight was going to hurt. A lot. And the more pain he felt, the he understood just how badly she had hurt Mira. And the more he would want her to die.

"Oh yes," Sado said. "This fight is going to be a brutal one. I can't wait."

Kyoka glared at him, extending a finger into a whip and snapping it against him, agony again screaming through his body.

Sado grinned even wider. "Thank you, may I have another?"

Kyoka's eyes widened in shock and she shrieked angrily, lunging and beginning to slash at him. Sado grinned. That was easy. He avoided her first slash and tore a massive chunk out of her side with his own claws. Kyoka staggered forward, eyes wide with shock and disbelief. She fell to her knees, coughing blood, then stared at her side.

"You...you BASTARD! ! !" Kyoka shrieked, curse energy exploding off of her, obscuring her for a moment before clearing.

The feathers on her legs grew larger, the top part of her clothes shifted, reaching from the thong up her sides and finally to a pair of points over her breasts, the feathers on her arms became black flesh, white feathers grew into a sort of shawl around her shoulders with a plume of them behind her head, her green hair was now reaching down her back in a tight round tail-like fashion and bushy at the end, and her claws had grown to more than a foot long.

She grinned wickedly and Sado smirked, readying himself. Then, a breeze drifted across Sado's skin and he collapsed, screaming in agony. His eyes widened. It shouldn't be possible to hurt that bad. He had no idea her curse was so strong. She was talking, but he couldn't hear her through the knives her voice was driving into his eardrums. He couldn't stand. He couldn't fight. If he punched her, he'd be crippled from the pain. If he breathed fire at her, he'd blow his own eardrums out.

Suddenly, golden light seared through the air, pain searing through him from his eyes. Then it was over. He blinked several times, his brain struggling to remember how to function. As his vision finally returned, he sat up, staring at the people standing before him. Sorano and Bacchus.

"You're here," Sado said. "I was wondering why your angels weren't blasting this cube apart."

"I figured we'd need a bit more help than our guild alone," Sorano said, a sphere of light around both hands.

"Hello again Sado," Bacchus greeted. "You ready to get wild?"

"You need to get drunk," Sado said. "Her curse enhances your pain, to the point that even the breeze will put you on the ground."

"That much, huh?" Bacchus asked, pulling out five gourds from God knew where. "I'll handle this then."

He chugged all five at once and staggered to the side, dropping them. Then, he cheered, sprinting forward. Kyoka began to strike at him, but he staggered, swayed, and dodged past her strikes, slamming a blistering series of palm strikes into her in the blink of an eye, blasting her backward into a wall. Sado looked to Sorano as he sensed Sting and Rogue's power spike. He turned, looking away from Kyoka and seeing them fighting Mard Geer.

"Sorano, have your archer shoot that Etherious," Sado said. "The one holding the book."

"Understood," Sorano nodded, summoning the angel.

It fired, the angel flying straight at Mard Geer, however, before it could hit him, he swung a hand, blasts of grey curse energy slamming into it and exploding, cancelling the arrow altogether. Sorano let the angel fade just as Bacchus crashed down behind them, gritting his teeth and slowly pushing himself back up, clearly in pain.

"I can't block it all out without passing out," Bacchus said. "A little help, please?"

"Sure," Sado nodded.

Then, fire began to race over his skin, Sado screaming in agony as it did. Sorano and Bacchus staggered away, their eyes wide with shock and fear. Then, Sado let the fires end, panting and covering in horrible burns.

"There," Sado said, raising his trembling arms. "Shall we?"

"You burned out your own nerve endings?" Kyoka gaped. "That's..." she smiled. "That's a pretty good idea."

She shot forward, slashing at him, only for him to knock her claws aside, Bacchus slamming a palm strike into her abdomen at the same time as Sorano slammed both spheres of light into her abdomen. The resulting explosion sent her flying and Sado shot after her, grabbing her by the face and shoving it into the ground, dragging her along for several meters before flipping and hurling her into the air, beginning to launch a barrage of fireballs at her. After a moment of being hit, she appeared beside him, slashing. He ducked, a gash being torn into his shoulder, then lunged, flames exploding out of his elbow and drilling a punch into her gut, blasting her at Bacchus. Bacchus pulled both hands back to his sides, then stepped forward, slamming them into her back and setting of an explosion that hurled her skyward.

Sorano swiped a glowing hand downward instantly and blasts of light energy began to form in the air above Kyoka, raining down on her in a sea of explosions, blasting her into the ground and continuing to fall for several seconds. Finally, it ended just as Kyoka lunged at her. Sado appeared below her, roaring and sending her flying skyward in a jet of pure-white flames. Kyoka screamed in agony before crashing back down. As she did, Sado stepped up beside her, pulling his fist back.

"Fwoosh," a voice he knew all to well said behind him.

The tornado hit him hard, blasting him into the ground and plowing him through it for several hundred feet before he flipped over it, landing on his feet. Tempester was standing once again, not only healed, but changed. His hair had grown to his waist and was a mess, he had grown a bushy beard, his body had grown more than double its former muscle mass, his face was now more square, and his arms and lower body up to mid-bicep and his navel respectively were covered by some thick black substance.

"Tempester," Sado snarled. "How are you still alive?"

"So long as the Underworld King is alive, I can regenerate endlessly," Tempester said. "Unless I were to be killed in a single blow, but I have never met someone capable of such an attack."

Sado looked toward Porlyusica and the others, seeing her working on healing Max and Yukino, who seemed to have been beaten by Tempester when he got up. Sado growled in annoyance, standing and brushing some dust from his shoulder. Then, his hands closed around his own throat. His eyes widened. That wasn't possible. She was down. He had put her down himself. In front of him, Sorano and Bacchus were both strangling themselves as well, while Sado was able to just barely keep his grip loose enough to breathe. Tempester smirked as Seilah stepped into view off to the left.

"Still fighting it?" Seilah asked. "You really are a stubborn one."

Sorano and Bacchus both passed out, hands gripping tighter. Sado tried to force himself to attack, but he couldn't move enough. Then, suddenly, Mira crashed down on Seilah's back in her Sitri form, Seilah's back snapping loudly as Seilah screamed, Mira transforming back and collapsing beside Seilah. Sado felt her control break instantly and shot forward, drilling a punch into Tempester, launching him away. Then, he spun, catching Kyoka's hand and squeezing.

"I've had more than enough of you Etherious," Sado snarled.

A wall of fire flew toward him from Tempester, but Sado inhaled, swallowing it all. Then, he smashed Kyoka into the ground, beginning to pummel her before spinning and hurling her into Tempester. Tempester shoved her aside and shot forward in a tornado, only for Sado to appear below him, hatred written all over his face as he grabbed Tempester by the throat.

"Porlyusica, do you need his blood anymore?" Sado asked.

"No," Porlyusica said. "We have enough."

"Good," Sado snarled, hurling Tempester skyward.

Tempester began to fly downward at Sado, but Sado crouched, a pure white phoenix appearing around him, the ground below him melting and inside of a twenty foot radius beginning to glow cherry red. Then, he exploded off of the ground, directly at Tempester.

"Phoenix Flight!" Sado shouted, slipping out through the back of the shroud.

The shroud crashed into Tempester's face, engulfing him in flame and Tempester screamed as he fell, only for the scream to die out after a few seconds. Then, the flames died out and a pile of ash landed on the ground.

"No way," Kyoka breathed. "He...he killed Tempester?"

"That's right," Sado snarled, turning to her. "You're next."

Kyoka screamed in rage, holding out a hand, Sado's body glowing green. She lunged, slashing him, but he caught her hand, slamming her into the ground and breaking her elbow, then the other. He knelt, picking her up by the face, pushing his thumb's claw into one of them as he did, making Kyoka scream even louder than she already was.

"You're a fool," Sado snarled. "Did you forget? I burned out my nerve endings. I can't feel anything right now. Much less pain. Even _with_ your curse. Now, I'm going to burn you. A lot. Enjoy."

He stood, holding out his hand and snapping his fingers. The moment he did, flames erupted to life over Kyoka's body, Kyoka screaming in agony as she burned, rolling in a desperate and futile attempt to extinguish the flames. Sado turned, walking away from her and picking up Mira, carrying her to Porlyusica and kneeling. He was out of healing lacrima. They were taken when he was captured. So instead, he set Mira down beside the Thunder Legion and stood.

"You're in no shape to fight," Porlyusica said.

"This war isn't over yet," Sado said.

"Here," Porlyusica said, pulling him back. "At least let me heal you first. It'll only take a few moments. Fortunately, you're mostly unharmed, and your burns we can fix another time."

Sado nodded and Porlyusica went to work.

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	100. Chapter 100

I do not own any of the original Fairy Tail characters.

* * *

Kings

Sado stood, nodding to Porlyusica and turning to leave only to freeze. Everyone stared at him in confusion, but he didn't notice. he could sense it. _Him_. He knew that wherever they were, Natsu, Gajeel, and Wendy would be shaking. He had come. Whether attracted by the concentration of power, or some other reason, he was here. He stared up into the sky as Acnologia roared. He was barely a prick of darkness against a dark sky, but his power shone like the sun to Sado's senses. Then, Acnologia fired a breath attack. A trail of massive explosions that dwarfed even the dragon that had caused them lit up the mountain range in the distance.

"Acnologia," Mira breathed. "What do we...do?"

"Die," Sado said. "If he's here for us...we die."

Finally, after flying by overhead several times and hurling bits of debris around with nothing but his tailwind, he stopped, charging a breath attack. Sado swore, forming his Devil Traits and rocketing off of the ground, forming the same massive phoenix shroud he had fought agains the demon Phoenix with. He crashed into Acnologia with a massive explosion, flipping over the dragon and getting some distance before Acnologia could kill him. Acnologia turned, roaring at him as Sado roared back, pushing his power as high as he could in preparation for the fight. Then, a light began to shine from the ruin below them. Before Acnologia could turn, a massive red dragon with a white underbelly appeared over the ruin. Then, it flew into the air, crashing into Acnologia's back with a thundering crash. Sado flipped over the dragons as Igneel dragged Acnologia away from the ruin.

Igneel was everything Sado had imagined. Red scales, scars marring his body all over, terrifyingly powerful. His power felt as though it actually rivaled Acnologia's. But it didn't. Sado could tell, Acnologia was much stronger. So, he flew forward, landing on Igneel's head.

"Igneel," Sado said. "My name is Sado. I'm a Fire Devil. I'll help you fight him."

"I know who you are," Igneel said. "I've been inside of my son this entire time. I saw it all. I do not want your help. I appreciate all that you've done for my son and his friends, but I will not fight alongside one of your kind. Move."

Igneel began forward and Sado jumped off, allowing the two dragons to slam their heads into each others, the impact bouncing both back and throwing Sado a short distance away. Just like that, the two were fighting. Roaring, flying around, and throwing blows. Igneel punching, kicking biting, and swinging his tail, and Acnologia doing all the same, as well as swiping his hand and sending blasts of his seemingly non-elemental Dragon Slayer Magic at Igneel. Just then, Natsu flipped, landing on Igneel's back.

"Dad, we gotta talk!" Natsu shouted.

"Natsu, go back!" Igneel shouted. "We'll talk later!"

"Tell me now!" Natsu shouted. "You owe me! Why did you disappear and leave me all alone? And what was with that stuff about being inside me? And what happened on that day, July seventh, seven seventy seven, the day you left me?"

Acnologia charged at Igneel, only for Sado's pure white devil hand to explode into his side, exploding and launching him away from Igneel.

"Igneel, explain briefly to Natsu," Sado said. "You need to be able to focus on the fight. I'll stall as long as I can."

Then, before Igneel could argue, Sado was off, expanding his fist again and throwing a punch, Acnologia throwing one of his own, his fist glowing in that blue energy that he couldn't recognize. The two strikes met and exploded, Acnologia backing up about a foot as Sado went spinning through the air. He stopped himself, roaring in rage and sending a jet of pure white flames that distorted the air around it at Acnologia, blasting him in the head, Acnologia shrinking away from the flames but not actually harmed, just like their last fight. Finally, Acnologia flapped its wings, getting above the flames, in time for the realistic dragon Sado had formed, the same as he used in Crocus, to crash into him from below, dragging him into the air. Acnologia roared in a mixture of confusion and rage, punching the dragon and severing its neck from its shoulders. As soon as it did, Sado appeared from the hole in the shoulder, smashing his expanded fist into Acnologia, the explosion shoving Acnologia higher. Then, the dragon's head fell away as ash as a new one grew, Sado being encased in this one. Then, he flew at Acnologia, ramming into him head-first, pushing him higher.

Acnologia roared, rolling off of the dragon, only for its tail to smash into the side of its head. Sado turned, flapping his wings and streaking forward. The dragon's mouth opened and Sado sent a flood of pure white flames at Acnologia, bathing him in them for several seconds before reaching him and smashing a fist into Acnologia so hard the dragon's entire arm was blasted apart. It reformed instantly as Sado flew downward, under an arch of Acnologia's magic. Then, Sado flipped, crashing into Acnologia's stomach yet again, the dragon's mouth biting down on Acnologia's throat this time, continuing to fly upward as it exhaled a jet of pure-white flames directly onto Acnologia's throat. Sado slipped out through the tip of its tail, forming a massive sphere of white-hot flames. Then, he exhaled a jet of equally white flames through the sphere, intensifying the flames and sending them up into the dragon, the entire thing bleaching white. He prayed his idea would work. If Acnologia couldn't breathe, he would die, and if there was no air, he couldn't fly. Right?

Acnologia roared one final time as Sado's dragon exploded, the explosion sending Sado flying downward, unconscious. After several moments, he opened his eyes, blinking and watching as Acnologia slowly drifted away from the planet. He smiled. He had done it. He was out of energy completely, but he had done it.

Suddenly, Acnologia's head rose and he roared, Sado's brow furrowing. Then, Acnologia began to rotate, facing away from the planet. Sado's blood ran cold. A beam of blue energy exploded out of Acnologia's mouth and the dragon began to fall. Sado began to form flames around himself as he began to fall too fast. He inhaled, swallowing them, regaining some of his energy. Then, he flipped extending his wings and stopping himself a few hundred feet in the air as Acnologia began to fall toward him, blue light beginning to shine from his mouth. Then, Igneel crashed into Acnologia from the side, stopping the attack and sending Acnologia away from Sado.

"You did well, Fire Devil," Igneel said, Natsu waving to him from Igneel's back. "We will take it from here. I need you to destroy Mard Geer and take the book he's carrying."

"Which is it?" Sado asked.

"It is the book of E.N.D.," Igneel said. "Do not open or destroy that book in any way. Just take it from him."

"Understood," Sado nodded. "I'll tear him apart. Natsu, don't let him die."

Natsu nodded and Sado turned, sensing for Mard Geer and finding him, then flying downward at him in a blur. Then, as he was approaching Mard Geer, he expanded his fist to larger than his own body and punched at him. Mard Geer leapt backward, allowing Sado's fist to blast into the ground, exploding and utterly demolishing several hundred meters of ground.

"A being that can fight on level with the dragon king, and survive," Mard Geer mused. "You, Fire Devil, are truly one of a kind. The last Fire Devil. Your power may actually prove to be a challenge."

"Then you had better put that book down so that you can fight me," Sado snarled.

"I think not," Mard Geer said, pointing up and to his right with two fingers on his right hand, then down and to the left with the same fingers. "Curse of Swords."

Sado shot forward, avoiding the spiked roots that exploded out of the ground at him, throwing a punch at Mard Geer. Mard Geer blocked it with his free hand and the point of impact exploded, throwing Mard Geer backward. He flipped, landing on his feet and glaring at Sado, swiping his hand, two fingers still extended. Triangles of grey curse energy shot toward Sado, only for Sado to flip out of the way, roaring and sending a jet of white flames at Mard Geer. Mard Geer held out his hand, a sphere of his curse energy appearing around him, blocking the energy but being sent sailing through the air. It faded and Mard Geer flipped, crashing down hard. As he stood, Sado sprinted forward, throwing a punch at him again, but he swatted it to the side, drilling a punch of his own into Sado's stomach, sending him blasting backward through the ground. Finally, Sado flipped, exhaling a jet of flame. Mard Geer extended an arm and a beam of grey curse energy fired from his fingers, punching through Sado's attack, barely missing Sado.

Suddenly, Sting appeared behind Mard Geer, both feet glowing as he spun, slamming a kick into Mard Geer's side. As Mard Geer flew, Rogue appeared from the ground, kicking Mard Geer under the chin. Mard Geer began to flip backward, only for Sado to appear over him, hands clasped above his head, pure white flames encasing his devil hands. Then, he smashed them down into Mard Geer's face, the flames exploding and blasting him into the ground before Sado lit his foot on fire and punted Mard Geer in the back of the head, sending him flipping away.

He crashed down hard, shattering the ground and kicking up a massive cloud of dust, only for it to blow away as he stood, curse energy flying off of him. He glared at the three of them, his eyes glowing, and Sado swallowed hard.

"Both of you need to enter Dragon Force," Sado said, both doing so.

"First a lesser devil starts to think he's strong," Mard Geer said. "Then a couple of pathetic Dragon Slayers think that they deserve the power they wield. And I'm led to believe that there are even more of them. As if the humans weren't bad enough. All these rodents scurrying around my home reminds me of a feeling I once had. Anger."

"Then welcome to our level," Sado snarled.

"Feelings dull the mind, you see," Mard Geer said. "So a long time ago, I decided to find a way to control them." He set E.N.D.'s book down on a small chunk of stone. "The time is nigh, Master E.N.D. just wait a little longer." He turned, walking away from the book. "Anger is an extremely powerful emotion. For it has the potential to transform other entirely." He stomped his foot, debris flying off of his throne, which he was heading toward. "One must wonder, what exactly would this transformed me be. I admit it's quite a terrifying thought to be sure." Finally, he sat down, leaning forward. "For who am I anyway? Who is Mard Geer? The Underworld King, and leader of the masterless cursed ones that is Tartaros. That is who I must remain."

Curse Energy began to explode up from all around him, shaking the ground.

"So I'll banish these emotions forever," Mard Geer continued. "And while I'm at it, I'll banish you from existence!"

"Be careful," Sado snarled. "His power's climbing."

"Something doesn't feel right," Rogue said.

Mard Geer began to raise his left hand, the light fading.

"I think he's beginning to take this fight seriously," Rogue said.

"We should too," Sting nodded.

Then, he snapped his hand out to the side, a blinding light shining off of it as bits of grey curse energy floated off it if, dozens of massive spiked roots exploding out of the ground, barely missing Sado and the others.

"Down!" Sado ordered, both Dragon Slayers complying.

Sado slamming his hands together before spinning, a massive sword made of flame forming and extending outward, allowing him to sever all of the roots, igniting them. Mard Geer himself had been just out of range of the blade, but was glaring at Sado. Sado let his sword fade as Sting and Rogue stood.

"Not bad," Mard Geer said. "I actually wasn't expecting that."

Sado shot toward Mard Geer, expanding his fist to half the size of Igneel. "I'm going to blast that pretty throne of yours into rubble!"

He launched flames out of his elbow, launching his fist forward, only for it to hit a dome of curse energy. Mard Geer's eye twitched and he grit his teeth. Then, the dome exploded outward, hurling Sado away.

"Sado!" Sting shouted, just as a rose appeared over his and Rogue's heart, both exploding and throwing the Dragon Slayers backward.

As they recovered, more roots began to burst out of the ground, this time heading directly for them. Before they could hit, Sado landed, slamming his hands into the ground, pure white flames exploding out of the ground like an eruption, with the circle they were on as the only safe place.

"Unison raid, now!" Sado shouted over the explosion.

Sting and Rogue both held their hands out, a sphere of their respective elements forming for each before combining. A massive sphere of blue energy formed just as the explosion ended, revealing that Mard Geer was in the air, he and his throne both having been thrown by the explosion.

"Holy Shadow Dragon Flash Fang!" Sting and Rogue shouted, firing the blast as a beam, the beam passing over Sado.

"Light and Dark in perfect harmony," Mard Geer said, smiling as the blast reached him. "But it can't last." He held his hands in front of himself, a few inches apart and the blast began to spiral into a spot between them. "Vanish."

The entire blast was pulled into the spot between his hands, shining brightly before winking out. Sado stared at Mard Geer in confusion.

"There's no way!" Sting growled.

"Did he absorb it?" Rogue asked.

"Lightning Flame Dragon Fiery Hammer!" Natsu suddenly shouted from above Mard Geer, smashing a flaming fist into the top of Mard Geer's head, only for the flames and lightning to vanish and Mard Geer to smirk back at him.

Sado shot forward as Mard Geer flashed, launching Natsu away. Then, Sado's fist crashed into Mard Geer, blasting him out of the air and into the ground. Mard Geer flipped, landing on his feet and swiping a hand, blasts of curse energy appearing around Sado and swarming him, forming a massive explosion. As it ended, Sado dropped, crashing to the ground before standing, growling in annoyance.

"Not bad," Sado grumbled.

Then, Mard Geer sat down in his still undamaged throne and smirked, crossing his legs and resting his cheek on his hand. Sado looked to the three Dragon Slayers, who now stood shoulder to shoulder with him, then up at Igneel, who was still fighting Acnologia. Sado held a flame out to Natsu, who ate it instantly.

"Shall we boys?" Sado asked.

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	101. Chapter 101

I do not own any of the original Fairy Tail characters.

* * *

Outmatched

Mard Geer sat down in his still undamaged throne and smirked, crossing his legs and resting his cheek on his hand. Sado looked to the three Dragon Slayers, who now stood shoulder to shoulder with him, then up at Igneel, who was still fighting Acnologia. Sado held a flame out to Natsu, who ate it instantly.

"Shall we boys?" Sado asked.

"Let's do this," Sting nodded.

"I'm with you," Rogue agreed.

"I'm all fired up," Natsu said, punching his hand.

"If that's the best you can muster, I think you should give up now," Mard Geer said. "Spare yourselves the agony that my Etherious Form will surely inflict upon your bodies."

Sado's gut dropped. He had totally forgotten that Mard Geer had a more powerful form that he hadn't even used yet. Even against the Celestial Spirit King. Mira may have ordered him not to fear Etherious, but that didn't mean he didn't know how screwed they really were. He sighed, clasping his hands and closing his eyes.

"Mavis, if you can hear me, please help the others stop Face," Sado whispered. "Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name."

"What are you doing?" Natsu asked.

"Praying," Sado said. "Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven."

"Does anyone else see the irony of a devil praying to God?" Sting asked.

"Is this really the best time?" Rogue asked.

"I may not survive this fight," Sado said. "I've done a lot wrong in my life, and I want to ask for forgiveness before I die. Give us this day, our daily bread, and forgive us for our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen."

"That was beautiful," Mard Geer smirked. "Why don't you recite Psalms twenty three next. I always liked that one."

"Sure," Sado nodded. "I'll finish with it. Dear lord, forgive me for my sins, and they are many. Forgive me for every time I've murdered, lied, tortured, and committed adultery. For every time I've spoken with demons, and for being born a devil. Thank you for seeing fit to allow that family to give me a second chance, and forgive me for wasting it so far. Amen."

"Well?" Mard Geer asked. "I'm waiting."

Sado smirked, forming a fireball between his hands. "The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures. He leadeth me beside still waters. He restoreth my sole. He leadeth me in the path of righteousness for His name's sake. Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I shall fear no evil." Sado raised the fireball over his head, expanding it until it was wider across than the four of them were. "For Thou art with me. Thy rod and Thy staff, they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me, in the presence of mine enemies. Thou annointest my head with oil. My cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me for all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord, forever. Amen!"

He swung the fireball down in front of himself, roaring and sending a jet of flames through it to strengthen the attack at the same time as the three Dragon Slayers all roared, the four blasts braiding together into a single massive attack. As it neared Mard Geer, he raised his hands, holding out both as a dome of curse energy appeared around him. The blast slammed into it, bowing it inward but not breaking through. They all pushed as much power into it as they could. But after a moment, Mard Geer's voiced reached their ears, shouting in effort before the dome finally cancelled out their blast and disappeared. They all stopped, breathing hard.

"Not bad," Mard Geer commended. "I actually had to try to stop that one."

"Tell me something, Rogue said. "Why do you want to wipe out all magic?"

"To free E.N.D.," Sado said. "That book belongs to him, and it's magic that seals him in."

"That's correct," Mard Geer said. "Silly as it may sound, I'm not actually our leader. E.N.D. is. Our goal is to free him from that book so that we can finally return to Zeref."

"That's crazy!" Sting spat. "If you want to see Zeref so bad, why not just go see him right now?"

"Have you ever stopped to consider Lord Zeref's reason for creating us? You've doubtless heard my comrades describe the call of Zeref. The urge to return to him. But none of them ever questioned it. When we find Zeref, what would he have us do? Why were we endowed with this instinct? It's an absolute command, etched into our genes. 'We must see Zeref.' 'We must return to Zeref.' 'We must do all for Zeref.' I, alone, have come to realize, that he made us to give him the one thing of which he's been deprived."

"Death," Sado snarled, Mard Geer raising an eyebrow.

"Correct," Mard Geer said, everyone blinking in surprise and staring at him. "Over the centuries, Zeref grew to revile his immortality. He yearned for death. But death would not come on its own. So Zeref strove to make a being strong enough to slay him. It took him many years to refine his work, dozens of creations, before he made one worthy of the task."

"E.N.D.," Sado said. "End. Zeref's."

"Not a bad theory as to the name," Mard Geer said. "I actually had the same theory at one time. But I believe it may be something else. Anyway, yes. E.N.D. is the creation that can finally slay Master Zeref. But E.N.D. was prevented from fulfilling his purpose, locked back inside his book. He is held there by a magic seal, one too powerful for any curse or spell in this world to break. Or so I thought. That was before I learned about the Faces. A magic seal can't exist in a world without magic. Very soon, he will be free. Then, side by side, we'll slay Zeref. This is the mission we were created to fulfill. It will be an exquisite pleasure to carry it out."

"All this time you've been wanting to kill Zeref?" Natsu asked.

"The hell does that have to do with the rest of us humans?" Sting asked. "Couldn't you just leave us out of it?"

"We were in the way," Sado said. "That's all. It's not that he wants us dead, he just doesn't care to avoid it."

"That's correct," Mard Geer said. "When one is on his way to an important destination, he doesn't timidly avoid the weeds in his path, he tramples them."

Suddenly, roots exploded out of the ground, smashing into Sting and Rogue and sending them flying. More caught them as another smashed Natsu away. Mard Geer turned to Sado.

"You've proven yourself to be quite powerful, Fire Devil, so I'll make you this offer once," Mard Geer said. "Though you can't hold a candle to Lord Zeref, I offer you the chance to come with us. Join us in our quest to slay Zeref. Do that, and you will not have to die with these lowly humans. You may even bring the half-devil you're so fond of. We can teach you both a curse that functions the same as your magic counterparts so that you may remain unchanged."

"Thanks for the offer," Sado said, snapping his fingers, all of the roots restraining the Dragon Slayers flashing as they flash-burned into ash in under a second, the Dragon Slayers unharmed. "But I'll pass. I'll stick to my magic and just kill you. We'll find our own way of dealing with Zeref."

Mard Geer sighed heavily. "As you wish."

A massive pillar of twisted vines and roots exploded out of the ground behind Mard Geer, growing into the air as more vines grew out of the ground behind it. At the top of the pillar, which bent down to point at Sado and the others, a closed pink flower grew, green vines twisted into chains holding it shut.

"The heck is that thing?" Natsu asked.

The flower petals, like the vines forming its stem, were covered in spikes and Mard Geer smiled up at it proudly before looking back to Sado and the others.

"It is a prison flower, fresh from the underworld," Mard Geer said, holding out his hand.

He rotated his hand, then swiped downward and the flower shot forward, vines bursting out of the ground and binding Natsu, those meant for Sado being burned away as flames erupted around his body. Before the flower could reach them, or Sado could destroy it, there was a gust of cold air and Sado blinked, then stared at the pink ice surrounding the flower. He turned, looking the way the wind had come from, seeing Gray. Just as he did, the flower broke apart, falling and shattering against the ground. Gray tossed Natsu's scarf to him, the scarf landing across Natsu's shoulders, and Sado smiled.

"Nice pink ice Gray," Sado said. "Where'd you learn Devil Slayer Magic?"

"From my father," Gray said, Sado staring at the black tribal-tattoo-like mark reaching from his right wrist to elbow.

"You got my scarf?" Natsu asked. "Thanks."

"You're welcome," Gray said coldly, staring at Mard Geer.

Sado looked back at Mard Geer and sat that there was pink ice also over Mard Geer's left forearm. He whistled. Gray was quick.

"Who are you?" Mard Geer asked.

"This face is the last thing you're ever gonna see, because you're the thing I slay," Gray said, ice-type magic energy beginning to radiate from his right arm.

"You're a Devil Slayer?" Mard Geer asked.

"He's a what!?" Sting gaped.

"Devil Slayer," Sado said. "Pains in the ass. Usually. Glad you're on our side Gray."

"We're going to have a rematch later," Gray said.

"And on that note, I'm going to take a solid pass," Sado said.

"If his title's as simple as ours, then he's exactly what we need right now," Rogue said. "Mard Geer's scared."

"I've come here on behalf of the fallen," Gray said.

Then, Gray swiped his hand a pillar of pink-tinted ice flashing into existence, trapping Mard Geer.

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	102. Chapter 102

I do not own any of the original Fairy Tail characters.

* * *

Devils and Slayers

Gray swiped his hand a pillar of pink-tinted ice flashing into existence, trapping Mard Geer. After a moment, however, Mard Geer flashed and the ice shattered, leaving Mard Geer unscathed, hands out to his sides. He straightened, dusting himself off.

"I never had a doubt that he would betray us eventually," Mard Geer said. "But I couldn't have suspected it would happen like this." He held out his right hand. "What poetic circumstance. Fate can be quite amusing can't it?"

Then, he swiped his hand to the right, roots beginning to explode out of the ground once again. Gray swiped a hand, all of them freezing instantly and Sado shot forward, throwing a punch at Mard Geer. Mard Geer brushed him aside and slammed an elbow into the back of his neck, sending him flipping into a wall of debris behind Mard Geer.

"I've no more patience to play with you, foolish devil," Mard Geer said. "Stay out of this or I'll destroy you."

Mard Geer sent more roots at Gray, only for Gray to once again freeze them.

"My old man sends his regards," Gray said, then swiped a hand, a massive blast of ice slamming into Mard Geer's side, launching him away as Mard Geer shouted in pain. Gray leapt into the air, hands together and pink ice magic energy shining from them. "You screwed with the wrong family! Ice Demon Zeroth Longsword!"

Just then, the flower exploded and a massive thing made of muscle appeared in front of Gray, slamming an elbow into his head, stopping him. Then, the person held out a hand, violet light shining from his hand before blasting Gray and sending him flying backward. Sado stared at the wall of solid muscle, which wore a necklace of red beads, tan pants, and had white hair spiked upward with a bushy white beard. he had changed a bit, though. He now had black markings over his torso, with a circle on his chest and back, his beard was in four long tails, there was a purple jewel embedded in his forehead, and his ears were pointed, and sticking out from his head a good six inches.

"Jiemma," Sado snarled. "So this is where you ran off to. Gray, Natsu, take down Mard Geer. I'll handle Jiemma."

"No, we'll do it," Sting said.

"You can help," Sado said. "But it'll be faster together, and I've wanted to torch this fucker ever since the games."

"He has a point about it being faster," Rogue said.

"Alright," Sting sighed. "Together."

"Those monsters, they turned him into a demon," Natsu growled.

"Just like they did to Minerva," Gray said. "Though it definitely seems to suit him better."

"Of course it does," Jiemma said. "Power has always suited me. That's why I demanded to be transformed. And look at me now. The mightiest demon that's every existed!"

Sado snorted, everyone staring at him as he covered his mouth, only to snort again, doubling over and beginning to howl with laughter. Jiemma growled angrily, but Sado continued to laugh. Finally, he straightened up, wiping a tear of mirth from his eye.

"I gotta hand it to you, Mard Geer," Sado said. "Your demon transformation did wonders with his sense of humor."

"What did you say!?" Jiemma thundered.

"You are about the furthest thing I've seen from the mightiest demon in about three hundred years," Sado said. "You're probably only barely stronger than Minerva."

"Why you..." Jiemma snarled, muscles beginning to bulge.

"Tell you what, Sting," Sado said. "I'm going to break his ego by beating the shit out of him with only my feet. Then after that, you two can take care of him yourselves."

"You insolent dog!" Jiemma thundered. "I'll crush you like the insect you are!"

Purple energy began to explode up around Jiemma as he shouted in rage, Sado raising an eyebrow.

"My newest servant's power surpasses all of the Nine Demon Gates," Mard Geer said.

"I certainly hope so," Sado said. "Aside from their individual tricks, they really weren't that powerful."

Suddenly, Jiemma shot forward, purple energy surrounding him like an aura as he threw a punch. Sado jumped, spinning and slamming a flaming kick into Jiemma's fist. Their magic fought against each other for several seconds before exploding, Jiemma flying backward, crashing to the ground. Sado landed lightly, smirking and holding his arms behind his back, gripping his forearms.

"Well, Mr. Mightiest Demon?" Sado smirked. "I'm waiting. You said you would crush me like the insect I am, right?"

Jiemma roared in rage, standing and holding out a hand, purple light flashing from his palm, only for Sado to throw a high snap kick, the blast that was almost too fast to see flying into the air and exploding. Sado sprinted forward, jumping and kicking at Jiemma, only for Jiemma to catch his foot.

"Nice catch!" Sado smirked. "You've got some reflexes. Now catch this!" He twisted, flames shooting out the back of his other foot, smashing it into the side of Jiemma's head and launching him sideways into a wall of rubble.

"This is pathetic," Mard Geer said. "Jiemma, I'm starting to think I wasted my time."

Jiemma roared in rage, exploding out of the rubble in a blur and moving to slam a lariat into Sado, only for Sado to flip over him, touching his foot to the back of Jiemma's head and jumping off, off-balancing Jiemma and making him crash to the ground. Jiemma stood roaring in rage and sending a wall of purple spheres flying at Sado. Sado smirked, leaping into the air and flipping over the initial wave, then touching down just long enough to leapt to the side, away from even more. As soon as he had escaped the blasts, Jiemma smashed both hands into the ground, sending out a blast of purple energy that obliterated the ground in a trail toward him. Sado jumped, escaping the attack, and Jiemma leapt at him.

"Bad move," Sado said, flipping and slamming a kick into Jiemma's shoulder, sending him exploding back into the ground, shattering it.

"Jesus," Sting said. "Jiemma can't touch him!"

"He's so strong!" Rogue said. "How is he not able to defeat Mard Geer?"

"Mard Geer holds back against you more than me," Sado said, landing in front of them. "He could have beaten us all already if he wasn't testing us."

Jiemma sprinted at Sado again and Sado met his charge, jumping and drilling a kick into Jiemma's fist as Jiemma through a punch. As with the first one, the explosion that resulted sent Jiemma flying. Sado sighed.

"I'm bored Jiemma," Sado said. "You haven't even landed a hit, much less made me use my hands. Face it, you can't beat me. I'm stronger than you. You may surpass the Demon Gates in terms of power, but without a curse to tilt the scale in your favor, you're not nearly as dangerous."

Jiemma stood, trembling with rage as his power began to climb rapidly. Sado grinned. Much better.

"I am the most powerful demon that's ever lived!" Jiemma snarled. "I'll destroy you!"

"I've killed more powerful demons than you for a warmup," Sado snorted.

Jiemma shot forward, shattering the ground as he ran. He threw a punch at Sado, and Sado jumped blocking it with his shin and flying backward. He flipped, planting his feet and skidding to a stop, grinning.

"Oh that's _much_ better!" Sado grinned. "Now this might actually entertain me for a few minutes." He streaked forward, stepping off of Jiemma's punch and slamming the top of his foot into Jiemma's face, sending him flying backward into the debris again. "Or maybe not."

"You dare mock me!?" Jiemma seethed.

"What're you gonna do about it?" Sado snorted. "Get kicked in the face by me? Again? Just face it, you're weak. You believe that strength and power are one and the same, yet they're not. When I fought the members of the Nine Demon Gates, it took everything I had to defeat them. Against you, I'm only using my feet, and you have more strength. You know why? Because they had more power. Strength isn't the only thing that determines power. If you don't have a reason to be strong, except for the sake of that itself, you're still weak. Each of the Demon Gates had reasons for their power, things that they wanted that gave them the will to fight past what their strength should have allowed. For most, it was their innate obsession with serving Zeref and returning to him. For Silver, it was revenge against demons. For Seilah, it was to prove her worth to Kyoka. Every single one of them had more power than you because of their will. You may very well be stronger than any of them physically. But in the end, you are still weak."

"You know nothing!" Jiemma seethed, streaking forward and throwing a punch at him.

"Do I?" Sado asked, leaning to the side, out of the way of the punch, then slamming a kick into Jiemma's ribs, his shin impacting fully across the bottom of Jiemma's ribcage, snapping them off.

Jiemma shouted in pain, staggering backward and falling to his knees. Sado sighed.

"I'm tired of this," Sado said. "Sting, Rogue, he's all yours. I'm going to go save Natsu and Gray."

He turned, staring off to the side where he could see Mard Geer in his Etherious form, an armored humanoid with large bat wings and Mard Geer's hair floating upward behind his head, dragging Gray and Natsu's faces through the ground, forming a pair of trenches. He floated into the sky, watching as Natsu and Gray grabbed Mard Geer's arms, slipping out of his grip and wrapping their legs around his arms, then slammed a punch of their respective magic into his head at the same time, blasting his face into the ground. He smirked. Maybe they didn't need to be saved. They probably had it covered.

Mard Geer looked up at them and grabbed them both by the face, flying into the air then hurling them into the ground. Sado sighed. Maybe not. He looked up at Igneel and Acnologia just as they shot out of the sky, crashing into the ground. Then, they were off again, Igneel slamming several attacks into Acnologia before narrowly avoiding a breath attack, the explosion of which reached the remains of the cube, though thankfully didn't hurt anyone. Sado sighed. They were going to be a problem before long.

Sado looked back at Mard Geer and growled in annoyance. He was flying around blasting Natsu and Grey with beams of his grey curse energy. Then, suddenly, he opened a sort of portal in the air above them a gigantic mass of roots shooting out to crush the pain, only for them to both slam a flurry of punches into it, destroying it, the remaining pieces freezing. Then, Gray sent a massive ice spear shooting out of the ground at Mard Geer, only for him to avoid it. A moment later, it shattered and Natsu slammed a Brilliant Flame into Mard Geer, blasting him into the ground and landing beside Gray. Mard Geer was, of course, unscathed when he stood, but Gray and Natsu both looked like they could go for hours, which they could. Sado landed beside Natsu and sighed.

"He's going to be hard to beat," Sado said. "You guys up to it?"

"We'll accept your help, if you're going to put up such a fuss," Gray said.

"Well humans, I must admit, I've been quite entertained by your attempts to vanquish me," Mard Geer said. "And now it's my turn to entertain you, with a story about the one and only primordial magic. From that origin point, magic grew to form various distinct paths. E.N.D. studied this evolution and discovered the potential for a new kind of power. Curses. A power fueled by the most dismal emotions. War. Spite. Envy. And hatred. Each of these negative feelings gave us an incredibly powerful energy. And we channel this essence of life to manifest our darkest desires."

"Do you even know what you're saying?" Natsu spat. "If that's true, then Magic will always be stronger!"

Gray nodded in agreement and Sado raised his hand. "I have a question, can we skip the history class and get back to killing you, or do we have to keep being lectured by a guy about to die to his so-called inferior power?"

Mard Geer held out his right hand, flexing his palm while keeping his fingers together. All around Sado and the others, darkness began to creep across the ground toward them, growing higher as it neared them.

"Gray, what is this?" Natsu asked.

"Is it fog?" Gray asked as the darkness began to reach toward them. "No, I can barely move!"

"Memento Mori," Sado growled. "It's a curse that erases its victims from existence altogether. You weren't kidding about banishing us."

"The era of magic is coming to an end," Mard Geer said. "It's time for the true supreme power to rule. Welcome to the era of curses."

Sado sighed, flying forward and punching at Mard Geer. "It doesn't effect demons!"

Mard Geer backhanded him, Sado crashing down hard and groaning, slowly pushing himself up.

"Okay, you're a hell of a lot stronger than I thought you'd be," Sado said.

"Witness the memory of death," Mard Geer said, darkness exploding out of him and forming dark silhouettes, which swarmed toward Gray and Natsu, swallowing them up.

Sado took a step forward but Mard Geer crashed down on his back, pinning him with his foot.

"Watch," Mard Geer said.

Once Gray and Natsu had been swallowed up, the silhouettes shot skyward, transforming into a green beam of energy.

"Memento Mori!" Mard Geer said.

Then, the beam exploded into a column of light, Sado shouting in effort, fighting to escape Mard Geer, to save his friends. Before he could get away, however, the light faded. Mard Geer let Sado up, but Sado simply sat on his knees, staring.

"The time has come," Mard Geer said. "The ultimate curse has been perfected and invoked. Once E.N.D. has been revived, we will return to you. And then, you will be destroyed, Lord Zeref."

Sado stared silently at the crater the curse had left and Mard Geer looked down at him.

"Do you now understand the power of curses?" Mard Geer asked. "Your friends should be honored. I found them worthy of my greatest curse."

"I'm going to tear you apart," Sado said, still staring. "I'm...I'm going to kill you."

"You don't sound very enthusiastic about it," Mard Geer said.

Just then, the ground began to shift at the crater, both staring at it. Something began to rise, pushing up through the ground. Then, the ground exploded, Gray standing from underneath, his skin having blackened on the left side, looking as though he had been splashed with ink. His left eyes glowed the same shade of pink as his magic as well, and behind Gray, Natsu stood, seeming slightly confused.

Sado cheered, jumping up and sprinting into the crater, grabbing both of them in a hug. "I thought you guys bit it!"

"Almost," Natsu said. "Gray shielded me somehow."

"This can't be," Mard Geer breathed. "How...he's morphed into a half-demon. Is this Silver's power? Did that traitorous corpse somehow manage to counter my ultimate curse?"

Then, Gray began to sway.

"Hey Natsu," Gray said weakly. "I know I...talk crap...but I've...got faith in you. I always have."

Then, Sado caught him, setting him down gently before turning to Mard Geer, Natsu stepping up beside him, both forming flames over their entire bodies.

"You guys got this," Gray said.

"Alright fine!" Mard Geer seethed. "Once I slay you, the half-breed's next!"

He shot forward, only for Natsu to move to meet him. Sado stared at Natsu as dark red scales began to form on his forearms and the sides of his face.

"Gray's not a demon!" Natsu shouted, punching Mard Geer. "He's a human being!"

Sado felt his skin crawl and his hair stand on end as he watched Natsu punch Mard Geer, sending him exploding through several walls of the castle where it was still standing. Natsu leapt after him, landing on a piece of debris that was flying through the air, then at Mard Geer. Sado stood rooted to the spot. It couldn't be. It was impossible. He could tell it wasn't Dragon Force. He had seen that. And this was different. Maybe Natsu was starting to turn into a dragon already. Yeah. That was it. It had to be it. Nothing else made sense.

He shook his head, taking a breath and pushing his power back up to where he would need it to fight Mard Geer alongside Natsu. He was glad Natsu could take the heat. As he flew forward to help Natsu, Natsu slammed a knee into Mard Geer's jaw, knocking him backward before painfully bright flames appeared around Natsu, who landed on a chunk of rubble.

"Igneel Style Dragon Slayer Secret Art, Hidden Fire Force, Flame Lotus Phoenix Sword!" Natsu shouted, exploding off of the chunk of rubble and into Mard Geer's abdomen, launching him backward for several hundred yards before Mard Geer exploded through another flying chunk of debris.

As soon as the attack ended, the scales sank back into Natsu's skin and he began to fall, Mard Geer flying after him. Sado shook his head, clearing the confusion from his mind before forming a Fire Make Bow and firing, the arrow punching through Mard Geer's forearm as he reached for Natsu. Mard Geer roared loudly, backing off from Natsu, who Sado caught and flew to the ground, laying him down. Then, he flew back up into the air with Mard Geer.

"My turn," Sado snarled.

"I'm going to rip you apart into a million pieces!" Mard Geer seethed. "I will scatter you to the wind! I will feed your pieces to your half-blood whore by force before I rape and torture her to death! I WILL-"

"Got you," Sado smirked.

Mard Geer's eyes widened just as a glowing arrow made of Ice Devil Slayer Magic flashed past Sado, punching straight through Mard Geer's chest.

"Ice Demon Zeroth Destruction Bow," Gray said.

Ice spikes exploded out of Mard Geer in front and back from the hole, tearing it wider as it did. Then, more erupted from him. Then more. Finally, all of the ice shattered and Mard Geer fell, crashing down hard. Sado floated back to the ground and sighed, picking up Natsu and walking back toward Gray, letting his Devil Traits finally fade.

"Do _not_ let me overuse my Devil Magic again," Sado said.

"Why?" Gray asked, the black markings that had been covering his left side during the attack fading.

"I got a bit violent, and angry," Sado said. "And I think I was hallucinating."

"What did you see?" Gray asked.

"Well, for a second I thought..." He stopped, replaying the moment in his head. Finally, he shook his head and sighed. "Nah. It's nothing. I must just be a bit tired."

"Probably," Gray nodded. "You fought three Demon Gates, Acnologia, Jiemma, and Mard Geer all in less than half a day."

"True," Sado nodded. "And I used my dragon to fight Acnologia, which always uses a shit ton of energy. Yeah. That's got to be it."

Gray nodded and they began to head back to where Sado had left Porlyusica, Natsu still slung over his shoulder. Before they could take more than a few steps, Sado stopped. Natsu stirred and Sado set him on his feet, transferring him enough Magic Energy for him to stand, then turned, walking to where Mard Geer had left his book and picking it up.

"Let me see that," Gray said. "I'll destroy it."

"No," Sado said. "Igneel wants it in one piece. So I'm going to give it to him in one piece. It's unwise to piss off a dragon."

"You pissed off Acnologia," Gray pointed out.

"And one super-powerful dragon pissed off at me is already more than enough," Sado said. "I mean it. I'm keeping it."

Gray narrowed his eyes at him as the black began to return. "So you were serious about overusing your Devil Magic, huh?"

"Don't start that..." he trailed off as the ground began to shake. "Is this..."

"The Faces?" Natsu finished.

"Oh shit!" Gray swore, all three turning to stare at the tall white statues sticking up from the ground everywhere.

Light began to shine from them, shafts of light reaching into the sky. Sado felt his heart sink as he watched the black slowly recede from Gray's arm. If he lost his magic, he'd be lost. He could survive using Curse Power, but that would simply revert him to the way he was before the amnesia. He looked toward Mira and fear gripped him. Even if he lived, he was about to lose his family. Mira wouldn't survive Magic deficiency syndrome in her weakened state, especially without Porlyusica having magic to treat her with. And even if Mira lived, she wouldn't be able to sustain a pregnancy through the illness. He took a step forward but his vision clouded and he fell to his knees, panting for breath already. It was happening faster than he expected. He figured it'd be a long torturous process like a human's Magic Deficiency Syndrome. Not a short agonizing one. Already pain was flooding his veins from his chest as the magic was stripped from him. His skin burned, every breath felt like crushed glass, and keeping his eyes open felt like he had been hit by pepper spray directly on the eye. He tried to stand only to pitch forward, collapsing onto his stomach, blood trickling out of the corner of his mouth.

"Sado!" Natsu gasped.

"Why do you resist?" Mard Geer's voice called out weakly. "You know you could survive if you would just allow yourself to wield Curse Power. Why allow yourself to be torn apart instead?"

"I would...rather...die...than be...like you!" Sado forced out before coughing, blood splattering across the ground. "I'll die...human."

"But you're not," Mard Geer said. "The humans aren't dying."

"Fuck...you," Sado said, voice barely above a whisper.

Then, his world became a void of darkness.

* * *

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	103. Chapter 103

I do not own any of the original Fairy Tail characters.

* * *

Disbanded

"It's an Etherious, just like the rest of Zeref's most powerful."

There was a boy. No, a man. Somewhere in between, maybe? He remembered something was off about him. Scales. That was it. He had scales.

"Think of it like an upgraded demon."

The boy, he was definitely a boy, was standing in front of him, wonder shining from his eyes and a huge grin on his face as he shook his hand, unharmed by the flames.

"Hey. I'm Natsu Dragneel."

There was something off about this boy. He had scales.

"What does it mean 'improvement?'"

"I'm Natsu Dragneel."

"It's an Etherious...Think of it like an upgraded demon."

* * *

Sado's eyes slowly fluttered open and he stared up at the blur above him. It was mostly white, but there was a bit of yellow, a little brown, and a hint of black on one side. Slowly, his eyes began to adjust, taking far longer than they should have. He blinked and was back to the initial blur. He blinked again. still blurred. He blinked again. Slightly sharper.

A smell began to register in his nose. It was faint. He could barely tell that it was there at all, but it was familiar. It took him nearly ten seconds to place it. Cherries. He blinked. A little sharper. His body hurt everywhere. Not even as a dull ache. Every vein in his body throbbed with the beating of his heart, like it was pumping acid, rather than blood, through them. He blinked again.

He could make out what he thought was a ceiling, and a light. And a wall. But the red still confused him. He tried to speak, but trying to move his mouth to steak caused pain to flair through him. Blurred again. He closed his eyes for several seconds and then opened them again. Slowly, his vision sharpened, the blur taking shape into a white ceiling with a brown border and a white wall immediately to his right. To his left sat Mira, tears falling down her cheeks rapidly as she clutched his hand to her forehead. It occurred to him that the red that had been confusing him was her dress, but he ignored it, instead focusing on the fact that he couldn't feel his hand. He stared at it. The skin looked wrong. Blotchy and melted. Where was he? And how had he gotten there?

Memories began to return. A floating cube. A war. Pain. Slowly, it dawned on him. He had burned his entire body, removed his nerve endings. That was why he couldn't feel Mira. But what had happened after? He remembered fighting Acnologia. He remembered Jiemma. He remembered being beaten by Mard Geer. He remembered Natsu turning the tables. Gray's final shot. But what had come after. He remembered pain. And light.

Finally, the memory clicked. Face. His Magic Energy had been taken. But if that was true, then how was he alive? He slowly tilted his head to the side, Mira looking up at him and beginning to sob, hugging him as she said something, but his ears didn't seem to be functioning, because all he heard was a garbled sound like he was underwater. He could see Porlyusica, as well. She was working in what he thought was silence, since that's what she usually did. After a moment, she turned, walking over and saying something he still couldn't understand. Then, she held her hands out, green energy forming between her hands and his body. Then, slowly, feeling began to return, followed quickly by sound. He lay there, allowing her to work for a long while. Hours, maybe. Her stamina was even more terrifying than his was, when he thought about it. Finally, she turned, walking back to whatever she had been working on before and Sado sat up slowly, staring down at his restored skin.

"Are you okay?" Mira asked. "You're pale."

"How am I alive?" Sado asked. "How is there still magic?"

"The Dragon Slayers' parents, the dragons that taught them, arrived in time to destroy the Faces," Mira said. "They saved everyone."

"Where are they?" Sado asked, Mira's face falling.

"They're gone," Mira said. "They were half-dead from Acnologia stealing their souls before they went into the Dragon Slayers, so when they destroyed the Faces, they used up the last of their magic. They're all gone now."

"What about Igneel?" Sado asked.

"He managed to tear off Acnologia's arm, but Acnologia killed him," Mira said. "It's been a week since the battle. Natsu's...taking it hard."

"I bet," Sado nodded, his dream returning to him. "May I leave?"

"Don't work for a few days to a week," Porlyusica said. "Aside from that, yes, you may go."

Sado nodded and Mira helped him stand, leading him out of the house and back to Magnolia. It was decimated. Even after a week hardly any of the repairs had been completed, if any. If he remembered right, the city had been fixed in a week before, so the lack of progress shocked him. They made their way to the remains of the guild hall where everyone else was gathered and where Makarov was in the middle of telling Elfman that the destruction of the guild hall wasn't his fault. Sado wasn't sure why it would be, though. He wasn't even sure how it had been destroyed. He had never had time to ask what he missed.

"Perhaps this marks the end of an era," Makarov sighed. "All of you will always be my children. But...as of now, I'm disbanding Fairy Tail."

"What!?" Sado all but shouted. "No! You can't do that! What did we do wrong?"

"Sado," Makarov breathed before smiling. "It's good to see you're alright."

"Tell me what we did!" Sado pleaded. "Please!"

"You did nothing wrong, my son," Makarov said. "It is simply time for us all to go our separate ways."

Sado stared at him before his gaze fell to the ground. "I understand Master."

"I am not your Master anymore," Makarov said.

"You will always be my Master," Sado said. "Just as much as you will always be my father."

Makarov remained silent and the others began to disperse, all heading their own direction, trying to figure out what to do next. Sado turned to leave with Mira only to stop.

"What?" Mira asked.

"I need to speak with him alone for a moment," Sado said. "I'll meet you at the Devil's Claw guild hall."

"Are we restarting it?" Mira asked.

"Maybe," Sado said. "I'm not sure yet."

Mira nodded and let him go, turning and walking away. Sado limped over to a chunk of stone and sat down, sighing.

"Face really fucked me up," Sado said. "So this is really the end, huh?"

"Yes," Makarov nodded. "It's time for the members of Fairy Tail to spread their wings and find their own way in life."

"This is the only family I've ever known," Sado said. "It's my home. What should I do?"

"You have a new family now," Makarov said. "Mira told me almost as soon as the battle was over. She was worried Face might have done something to the child."

Sado looked up at him in surprise.

"Don't worry," Makarov sighed. "Porlyusica spent nearly a full day running tests. Your child is going to be just fine. It was too early in development for Face to effect in any way. Not really surprising. It's about two weeks now, give or take."

Sado nodded. "Master, while I was sleeping, I had...I don't think it was a dream, but I don't want to call it a vision. And it brought a few old memories to mind."

"Oh?" Makarov asked.

"The first time I met Seilah, the Etherious, my devil blood had such a strong reaction of fear to her that I couldn't move," Sado said. "I collapsed, and then I passed out. One of the memories is from the Tower of Heaven. When Natsu ate a piece of Ethernano-filled lacrima, there was a moment when I had a similar reaction. I lost control of my body and I was afraid. I didn't think anything of it at the time, and I didn't even know what an Etherious was back then since I didn't remember who _I_ was, but now...In the dream, I kept hearing my own words, talking about an Etherious being an upgraded demon, and about them being Zeref's strongest creations. And I remembered the Devil Slayer's book listing Natsu as my rival, but it had the word 'improvement' immediately after that as part of the description. And when we were fighting Mard Geer, Natsu somehow entered Dragon Force without any external source of strength, except, it was different. He had actual scales this time. And...And when he entered it, I had a reaction identical to when I was around an Etherious before, despite the fact that Mira used Macro to block my fear of Etherious."

"What are you asking, my son?" Makarov asked.

"Did I see what I thought I did?" Sado asked. "Does E.N.D. stand for Etherious Natsu Dragneel? Is Natsu Zeref's greatest weapon?"

Makarov remained silent for a long while before sighing. "Yes. It's true."

"How?" Sado asked.

"Natsu was once Zeref's younger brother, who died and was revived by Zeref, albeit as an Etherious. That was the only way he could. However, Natsu's Etherious power was sealed into the book of E.N.D. Zeref then entrusted Natsu to Igneel to raise or destroy. But Igneel loved Natsu as a son, and could not bring himself to kill him. When Acnologia attacked the dragons, he tore their souls out. Seeking to find a way to destroy him, as well as protect their foster children, the dragons fled through the Eclipse Gate with the help of Anna Heartfilia in their natural time, and Layla Heartfilia in the year they were going to. I'm not sure about the specifics of how they were coordinated, but I suspect that someone told Anna how to do it, then four hundred years later also told Layla. Anyway, the dragons raised and trained their children until Acnologia stole their souls, then sealed themselves inside of their children and sent them through the Eclipse Gate to July seventh, seven seventy seven. From there, I think you know most of it."

"What about that crap about Natsu being the leader of Tartaros, and him creating Curses?" Sado asked.

"I honestly don't know," Makarov said.

Sado nodded. He sighed and pushed himself up. "He doesn't know, does he?"

"No," Makarov said. "And if Zeref dies, so will Natsu."

"Gray wants to kill E.N.D.," Sado said. "We'll have to tell them eventually."

"Someday," Makarov said. "But for now, it's best to let sleeping dogs lie."

Sado nodded. "I think I'm going to take a break from being in a guild. I want to start a family without worrying about Mira or our child being hurt."

"I believe that is a wise decision," Makarov nodded.

"Thank you for everything you've done for me, father," Sado said.

Makarov smiled. "It was my pleasure."

"Feel free to come and visit your grandchild after they're born," Sado smiled, limping away. "And bring Porlyusica. Maybe seeing her grandchild will finally help her cheer up."

Makarov smiled, shaking his head. Sado made his way to the guild hall, finding Mira waiting and smiling. He kissed her, Mira kissing him back before taking his arm over her shoulder.

"Where are we heading?" Mira asked.

"Our cabin," Sado smiled. "I think I'm ready to finally settle down."

Mira nodded, smiling, and shifted into her She Devil form, flying into the air and away from the city.

* * *

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	104. Chapter 104

I do not own any of the original Fairy Tail characters.

* * *

Family

Sado smiled as he watched Mira and their daughter play, his three hellhounds, now more lapdog than killer demon spawn, lying around Mira, panting and wagging their tails any time their daughter threw a toy at them or reached for them. Their daughter, Hope, was a little over three months old now, and already Sado had spent more time putting her fires out than he had slept, trained, or even held her. He smiled. She was a natural fire wizard. She wasn't a devil, thankfully, but she _was_ capable of spitting fire whenever she threw a temper tantrum. He was almost afraid to see what her terrible twos would bring.

Mira walked over, kissing Sado and handing Hope to him. He smiled, gently bouncing her and swaying from side to side, Hope smiling up at him.

"She needs to be changed again," Mira said, dancing away before he could catch her.

"That's just mean," Sado said, sighing and walking into the house, laying her on her changing table and grabbing a new diaper and some wipes.

A few moments later, he was holding her again. Mira walked over, holding her arms out expectantly and Sado turned away, sticking out his tongue.

"Nah uh, my turn," Sado said. "She wants me to hold her, don't you you little time bomb?"

Hope laughed and smile, then burped, sending a fireball at the ceiling. Sado tilted his head back, inhaling and catching it, swallowing and sighing. He walked outside, gently bouncing her in his arms as he walked before sitting down on the swing bench they had added to the front porch of the cabin and enjoying the cool breeze. Mira sat beside him on the bench and they began to sway gently. Hope yawned, tucking her face into Sado's shirt, and closed her eyes. Sado smiled. She slept even more than he did.

"I wish things could stay like this forever," Sado sighed, Mira smiling and leaning on his shoulder.

"We can get a couple more years out of it," Mira smiled.

"I wish," Sado sighed. "Zeref's still out there."

Mira sighed, gently stroking Hope's cheek, making her smile. "It doesn't have to be our problem. We could stay here."

"I want to," Sado said. "Really I do. But..."

"But you still have your hero complex and want to fix all the world's problems," Mira sighed. "I know. I wonder how strong Natsu's become."

"Oh yeah, he took that training trip," Sado said before grinning. "I wonder if Lyon ever got Ur or Shelia pregnant."

"Not everyone is stupid enough to make that mistake," Mira teased, knowing Sado wouldn't take it at face value.

"Oh so it's my fault is it?" Sado smirked. "If I remember correctly, it's entirely your fault for distracting me."

Mira laughed. "I was distracting me too."

"I could tell," Sado snorted. "I kind of miss the old days. Eat, sleep, have sex, sleep some more. Maybe eat again, probably have sex instead."

Mira smiled, watching Hope sleep. "I wouldn't trade a single day of this for that."

"Neither would I," Sado smiled. "We were only allowed to do that whenever I got hurt."

Mira laughed, shaking her head. "I meant because of Hope."

"Oh that too," Sado chuckled.

"Oh so she's a 'that' now huh?" Mira asked. "Fine. Then it's my turn."

She skillfully stole Hope from his arms without waking her and he began to pout. She gave him a quick kiss and he sighed, standing and walking off the porch with his hellhounds.

"Alright boys, time to exercise," Sado said, extending his wings and forming some for the hounds too. "We'll be back in a bit."

"I'll be here," Mira smiled.

Sado rocketed off of the ground, shooting high into the air before launching three fireballs in different directions, the hounds taking off after them as Sado took off in a separate direction. A few minutes later, the three hounds returned, each holding the fireball in their jaws. He smiled, letting the fireballs fade and began to enjoy flying, the dogs flying around him. Finally, after about twenty minutes, he flew back to the house, landing and kissing Mira before waking inside, starting dinner.

"What're we eating?" Mira asked.

"Deer, as usual," Sado said. "Kind of hard to eat anything else when we just hunt for it."

Mira smiled. "I meant _with_ the deer," Mira said.

"Oh that," Sado smiled. "I sent a fire clone to Magnolia to buy some spaghetti."

Mira smiled. "That sounds wonderful!"

Sado smiled, continuing to cook. After a few minutes, however, the hellhounds all stood up, snarling. Sado set his knife down, sighing and walking to the door, leaning against the door frame. Standing before them was a woman wearing a dark blue cloak with the hood up, and a white feather-themed bikini underneath as her only clothing. She had a bracelet on her right wrist that shared the white feathers theme, as did her white high-heeled shoes.

"Well well," Sado said. "Look Mira. An Angel has seen fit to pay us a visit."

Mira turned to the door and smiled brightly. "Sorano!"

She hurried over, hugging Sorano with one arm, Sorano hugging her back. Then, Sorano smiled down at Hope.

"She's so adorable!" Sorano smiled. "I was so happy for you two when I heard you had a girl. It's sooo much better than having a boy."

"Well if that's true, you can be on fire clean up duty," Sado snorted. "She's more prone to destruction than Natsu."

"Oh and you're one to talk," Sorano snorted. "Anyway, I didn't actually come to catch up, although I really am glad to see you. I actually came to give you guys a rumor."

"What's that?" Sado asked.

"A little birdie told me that this year's Magic Games will be one to watch," Sorano said. "Maybe not like last year when Fairy Tail slaughtered the competition out of nowhere, but enough that it might be worth the trip out. Hey, I have a question. Where's your pet phoenix? Faith, was it?"

"Oh she's the lookout," Sado said, whistling.

After a moment, Faith swooped down, landing on his shoulder, barely bigger than a partridge. Sorano smiled.

"Did she just get reborn?" Sorano asked.

"Yeah, she dusted about a week ago," Sado said. "Happens about once every four months."

Sorano nodded. "Well, I think she's adorable small."

"So does Hope," Sado smiled. "Which is exactly why Hope's not allowed to pet Faith when she's small."

Sorano laughed. "I can imagine. Anyway, just thought I'd pass the rumor along. Oh, and Lisanna says she misses you two."

Sado smiled. "Where'd she end up?"

"Sabertooth," Sorano said.

"No kidding?" Sado said.

"Yeah," Sorano nodded. "They're run the same way Fairy Tail was now, so it's just like home, or so she says. Really though, I think she just followed Yukino there."

"No way," Mira said. "Lisanna's still in love with Natsu. Plus she's not into girls."

"If you say so," Sorano shrugged. "I know she's certainly a lot more distractible whenever Yukino's in the room, especially at the pool. But, I'm sure you're right. Anyway, I gotta get back. If I don't hurry, Ultear will chew my ass for being late. You know, on second thought, maybe I'll take a detour."

She raised a hand, walking away and Sado shook his head.

"Don't get me wrong, I'm glad she moved on from me, but I definitely don't want to listen to her talk about trying to bed Ultear," Sado complained, returning to cooking.

"How come?" Mira asked. "Jealous?"

"Hell yeah I am," Sado said. "I haven't been able to bed you in months. And not for lack of trying."

Mira laughed. "So, we going to go to the games?"

"Probably," Sado nodded. "We going to try to get Lisanna with Yukino?"

"Most likely," Mira smiled. "I _do_ want a niece or nephew, but there's always Elfman and Evergreen."

Sado snorted. "I wonder if they're being open about it yet."

"I doubt it," Mira smiled.

Sado nodded, using his fire to speed-cook the food and serving it. Mira smiled beginning to eat and Sado did the same. As they did, Sado whistled twice and the hellhounds barked, rushing out the door to hunt for food.

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	105. Chapter 105

I do not own any of the original Fairy Tail characters.

* * *

Return

Sado crossed his arms, sighing. None of the guilds he and his friends from Fairy Tail had worked with were in the games. None of them. It seemed like Sorano's rumor was a bust.

"There better be a Dark Guild attack," Sado said. "Otherwise this was a waist of time."

"Well, it _did_ get us out of that cabin finally," Mira said.

"True," Sado mused. "That better not have been her goal."

Mira smiled. "I'm sure there's more to it than-"

"Sado? Mira?" a voice off to the side called out, one Sado instantly placed. "Oh my God!"

Sado smiled, turning as Lucy ran over, hugging him and accepting a one-armed hug from Mira.

"What are you two doing here?" Lucy asked. "I thought you were settling down."

"So did I," Sado said. "But Mira won't stop hogging the kid, so I figured I needed something to do."

"Oh I'm sorry," Mira said. "Would you like to breastfeed her every thirty minutes?"

"Oh yeah sure," Sado said, smiling. "Let me just call Porlyusica. I'm sure she has a spell for it."

"It wouldn't surprise me, honestly," Lucy smiled. "How've you been?"

"Good," Sado smiled. "Makarov and Porlyusica both come to visit every couple months, when they can. I'm kinda bummed none of the good guilds are taking part."

"I know," Lucy nodded. "I was hoping to see some of the others."

"Meaning you're still mad at Natsu for leaving you behind and you were hoping Sting would wreck shop to attract Natsu like a moth to flame," Sado said. "That's fair."

"Hey, I have every right to be mad at that idiot!" Lucy said before sighing. "Sorry. I gotta go do my job. I work for Sorcerer weekly now."

"Alright," Sado said. "I'll just sit here and try not to attract any trouble this time around."

Lucy rolled her eyes, walking back over to where Jason was watching the two full teams. It was a brawl. And it wasn't a very good one. Within minutes, one team that Sado didn't even care to remember, much less try to pronounce, a team which had obviously been hiding their power the entire time, had mopped up the floor with the other side.

Sado sighed, standing. "I'm going to go say goodbye to Lucy. Looks like it really was a waste of time."

"Hey, who's that?" Mira asked, pointing.

He turned, staring at the cloaked figure walking out of one of the entrances. He cocked his head to the side. They were throwing off waves of magic energy, but something about their presence felt familiar. He blinked, sensing for their magic power in earnest, as he hadn't since Fairy Tail was disbanded, and instantly grinned, dropping back into his seat and leaning back, kicking his feet up.

"Well well," Sado said. "This just got interesting in a hurry."

"Is that..." Mira trailed off. "It can't be."

"Yup," Sado smirked. "Be ready for the screaming."

Lucy began to warn people to evacuate, only to stop as the intruder began to kick up a strong, very hot wind as they stopped in the center, the team he was about to demolish warning him to walk away. Instead, he sent a wall of flames flying at the team, not harming them, but scaring them.

"Sado, do something!" Lucy shouted.

Sado began to whistle calmly, watching the show. The man's next move was to send a pillar of flames shooting high into the sky, filling the arena. As the flames died down, the arena itself, as well as everyone's clothes besides Sado and Mira's, began to melt, Lucy ending up covering her breasts with her arms. Sado snorted, pulling off his coat and tossing it over, the coat landing around her shoulders and covering her.

"Fight him Sado!" Lucy shouted.

"No fucking way," Sado snorted. "I like this show."

He watched as the Intruder, who was at the center of the now glowing red arena, lit his hands on fire and shrugged his hood off, exposing his signature pink hair. The effect was instant.

"It's Natsu Dragneel!" the games announcer shouted.

"You son of a bitch!" Lucy shrieked, leaping off the edge of the stands, Sado extending his wings and catching her, inhaling the heat remaining from Natsu's flames before setting her down. "You bastard!" She stormed up to him, slapping him so hard his head cranked around and a glowing red handprint was left on his cheek. "What the hell Natsu!?"

"Um...sorry about the stadium," Natsu apologized. "And your clothes."

"I don't give a hell about the stadium!" Lucy snapped. "Okay, yeah, the clothes you're replacing. But I don't give a hell about the stadium! Why the hell did you leave!? Why didn't you take me!?"

Natsu's eyes widened before he stood, staring at the ground. "I'm sorry. I...I needed some time alone after Igneel...But, we came back for you. But by then, you were already gone."

Lucy leaned against him, breaking down into sobs as the rest of the guild whose team Natsu had defeated rushed into the stadium. Sado sighed, turning toward them.

"I got this," Sado said, lighting his hands on fire. "Alright, so. Anyone who _doesn't_ want to walk out of this looking like a piece of charcoal, leave now."

The entire guild charged so Sado shrugged, slapping his hands into the ground. A moment later, flames exploded up under them. Not enough to burn them, but enough to prove the point. They all turned, walking away without a single word and Sado smirked, turning back to Natsu and Lucy, who was basically being held up by Natsu. After a few more minutes, the guards arrived and Sado waved to Mira, who waved back, as he and Natsu were "escorted" to the castle, meaning that the guards begged them to follow without trouble and they agreed because Natsu wanted to see the king and Hisui. Once they were in the throne room, the king ordered them released on the spot.

"Hey, it's been a while," Natsu greeted, Hisui struggling not to laugh as Sado leaned against the wall. "Haven't been here since the party. That was a good time, wasn't it?"

"This is serious!" the guard that had escorted them snapped, even as Hisui fought to hold a laugh in. "The only reason you're here now is because you ruined the games!"

"Oh lighten up," Sado said. "The arena can be rebuilt with magic, just like the entire city was last year, and no one besides that one team was hurt. And that was mostly their pride and dignity."

"Shut your mouth!" Darton snapped.

"Chill out," Natsu said.

"It _has_ been a while," Hisui finally said. "It makes me happy to see you're doing well. You've done so much for us."

"What's she talking about?" Natsu whispered.

"Oh something about an time portal, and dragons wrecking the city, and then something about Celestial Spirits going rogue," Sado said. "Probably nothing worth remembering."

Hisui laughed into her hand again as Natsu scratched his head.

"I see you haven't changed much," Arcadios laughed.

"Since the pleasantries are done, we need to discuss what would be a proper punishment for their destructive crimes," Darton said.

"Now Darton, due to Natsu and the Fairy Tail guild's heroic actions, Crocus and the kingdom of Fiore have been saved from the brink of destruction many times," Hisui said. "Surely you haven't forgotten."

"It makes perfect sense that our reunion here today would involve such uproar," Arcadios said, earning another laugh from Hisui and the king.

"Princess Hisui, are you really going to let them go without any punishment?" the guard asked.

"This year's games were boring," the king said. "So for heating things up, you have my thanks!"

"Oh yeah!" Natsu and Happy cheered.

"So do you know what you'll do next?" Hisui asked.

"Well, since we just wrapped up a year of super intense training, we were planning on heading back to the guild," Natsu said, Sado's gut dropping. He didn't know.

Sado had completely forgotten that when Makarov made the announcement, Natsu and Happy had been getting ready to leave on their training trip. "Natsu. The guild...Makarov disbanded it."

Natsu laughed. "That's a good one. No, seriously though, you coming back to the guild with us or not?"

"Natsu, there _is no_ guild," Sado said. "Listen to my words. Fairy Tail was disbanded after we beat Tartaros. It's finished. Everyone was scattered to the wind."

"What?" Natsu blinked. "You... _are_ joking, right?"

"No," Sado said. "Mira and I have been living in a cabin for the last year. Sorano joined...uh...a less popular guild, Yukino and Lisanna went to Sabertooth. Gray and Juvia disappeared completely."

"You're kidding!" Natsu gaped. "No freaking way! Gramps would never do that!"

"I'm sorry Natsu," Sado said. "The family's been broken up."

Natsu stared at the floor before grinning widely. "Then we'll just have to put it back together. With me as Guild Mas-"

"Really?" Sado asked.

"I mean, with Mira or Erza as Guild Master," Natsu said.

"Smooth," Happy said.

"Come on," Sado said. "We'll have to go make sure the spare guild hall's still standing first."

The two of them walked out of the castle in silence, Sado thinking of a way to tell Mira. He felt horrible about making the decision alone, and resolved to make sure she was okay with it before he actually moved to the guild hall, but he just felt like something was missing without the rest of the guild around. As they stepped outside and found Lucy and Mira waiting, he realized he had no idea how to ask.

"It's alright," Mira smiled, knowing what he was thinking. "As soon as we left for the games, I knew we wouldn't be going back to the cabin."

Sado's eyes widened and he smiled, hugging her. "Then, I guess the next step is to find everyone."

"I've got that covered," Lucy said. "I kept track of everyone. Well, everyone but you, Natsu. You just disappeared."

"Sorry," Natsu said.

"Come on," Sado said. "Have that argument _after_ we bring Fairy Tail back. Who's first?"

"First let's go make sure the old guild hall survived Tartaros," Lucy said.

Sado nodded and they all followed her back to her apartment. It was going to be cramped with so many, but she claimed to not mind. The next morning, however, they woke up to a bunch of soldiers outside, shouting. Natsu grabbed Lucy and leapt out the window, taking off with Happy following. As they did, Sado flew out the window with Mira, watching the Fairy Tail emblem and the words Fairy Tail burn across the front of the palace. The palace wasn't being damaged, fortunately. Natsu had been smart enough use short-burning magic flames, rather than his own, but on principal, the army was chasing them out of the city. Mira laughed as they flew away from the city, following Natsu and Lucy.

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	106. Chapter 106

I do not own any of the original Fairy Tail characters.

* * *

Rejection

Sado sighed. The guild hall was still standing, and Natsu still refused to allow them to fly them there. So instead, they were at Lamia Scale, watching the guild's thanksgiving day parade. More accurately, watching Shelia and Wendy, now a team called the Sky Sisters, dancing on a stage. It wasn't a bad dance, and neither was wearing anything overly revealing, but Natsu still wasn't pleased. In fact, he looked about ready to burn the town down for the sake of stopping it.

"Hey, where's Carla anyway?" Happy asked.

"I knew you all would come here soon," a voice behind them said.

They turned, staring at a girl about Shelia's height with snow-white hair, cat ears, a white cat tail, and a a black schoolgirl uniform, complete with tights, a tie with a cat paw design, and a cat head hairband. Sado blinked twice, having to actually sense the girl's magic energy to be sure he was seeing things right.

"Carla?" Sado blinked, everyone else staring at him, deadpan.

"That's right," Carla nodded, everyone staring at her. "I learned Transformation Magic. It's quite useful."

"I can tell," Sado nodded. "So...how's she been?"

"Good," Carla nodded. "She fits in well here. She misses Fairy Tail, of course, but she has a home here."

"Well we're taking her back," Natsu said.

They watched the rest of the parade in silence before finally being led to Lamia Scale. As they arrived, Ur met Sado at the door with a hug, Sado smiling and hugging her back.

"I'm surprised you and Shelia aren't pregnant yet," Sado smirked.

"Not everyone knocks their girlfriend up on accident," Ur said. "But before you can ask, yes, the three of us _are_ still together. And Wendy gets embarrassed as hell every time I talk about it or kiss Shelia in front of her."

"Which you, being you, do all the time," Sado said.

"Every chance I get," Ur smiled, reaching up and petting Faith, who Sado had picked up on the way back to Natsu and the others.

They all headed inside, Ur going to get Wendy and then coming back with Lyon as well.

"Natsu, Mira, Lucy, Happy!" Wendy cheered.

"Ouch," Sado said.

"Who are you?" Wendy asked.

"What the..." he caught Ur trying to hide a devilish grin and crossed his arms. "Oh hah hah. Very funny."

Wendy grinned, hugging him as well. "It's good to see you Sado."

"You too Wendy," Sado said. "Even though Ur's a bitch."

"I'll fight you," Ur threatened.

"I'll die," Sado countered. "Then you have to deal with Mira."

Ur laughed. "Yeah I'll pass on that one."

"Alright, we'll be going now," Natsu said, throwing Wendy over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes, everyone staring in surprise.

Sado caught him by the shoulder, taking Wendy and setting her back down. "Sorry about that. Natsu, we can't just kidnap her. It's her choice."

"What's my choice?" Wendy asked.

"We're putting Fairy Tail back together," Natsu said.

"Really?" Wendy asked.

"Come on," Lyon spoke up. "We'll talk about it inside."

Sado nodded and they all followed them inside, Ur stealing Hope from Mira, who didn't look impressed but let her hold him. "So Ur, you hear from Ultear any?"

"I get a letter without a return address once in a while," Ur nodded. "She's doing well."

"I heard a rumor that Sorano might have a thing for her," Sado said.

Ur laughed. "Yeah, Ultear told me about that. She said she's been ignoring Sorano trying to flirt."

"She got someone else in mind?" Sado asked.

"That's a good question," Ur shrugged. "Maybe. She never says anything about it."

"So, do you guys know where everyone is?" Wendy asked as they reached a table, sitting around it.

"Some of them," Sado nodded. "Or, at least, Lucy does. Me and Mira were in the middle of the woods for the whole year."

Wendy nodded. "Congratulations by the way. When was the wedding?"

Sado smiled sheepishly. "Uh, we never really...had one."

"We were already living like we were married, so I guess we just forgot to have one," Mira smiled.

Just then, Hope sneezed, a fireball shooting out and singing the end of Ur's hair. Ur glared at Sado.

"Don't look at me," Sado said. "I didn't teach her that."

"No, but she got it from you," Ur said, giving Hope some ice to suck on.

"Eh," Sado shrugged. "You can't prove anything."

"You're right, it was probably Natsu," Mira laughed.

Sado gasped dramatically. "Oh that's it! You're a dead man Natsu."

"What?" Natsu asked. "I didn't teach your kid magic! Mira's full of crap!"

Sado stared at him before everyone burst out laughing.

"What's so funny?" Natsu asked.

"It's nothing," Sado laughed. "Anyway, getting back on topic, we'd like it if you two would come back."

"I'm actually going to stay here," Ur said. "That way I don't have to travel across Fiore when I get horny."

Several people blushed, none more than Wendy and Shelia, though Lyon was close.

"What do you say Wendy?" Sado asked. "You in?"

"I...um...I'm really sorry," Wendy said. "I'm in Lamia Scale now. I can't just leave."

"There's no reason to feel like you _have_ to stay," Lyon said. "We knew this day would come eventually. Fairy Tail is too proud and loyal to each other to stay disbanded."

"Out of curiosity, who would be the guild master?" Ur asked. "Makarov disappeared to avoid being on the Magic Council with the rest of the Wizard Saints, so who would run it?"

"Mira or Erza, at least for now," Sado said. "Maybe Laxus if we can find him."

"We could always summon him," Mira said.

"True," Sado nodded. "Why didn't you become a Wizard Saint?"

"They told me I'd have to be on the Magic Council and I refused," Ur smiled. "I'm not leaving my two favorite long-term booty calls for a bunch of rules and red tape. No fucking way."

Again Lyon, Wendy, and Shelia blushed.

"You sure you want to stay around that Wendy?" Sado snorted. "Alright. Well, if you're sure, we'll leave you to it. We'll be at the Viper Inn for tonight if you chance your mind."

Wendy nodded and Sado practically dragged Natsu out, Happy and Lucy following, Mira taking back Hope and saying her goodbyes before leaving as well. they all headed to the inn and Sado rented two rooms. Then, they all headed up to their rooms. Natsu and Happy would be staying with Lucy, which should be much more pleasant that night than the first night, since Lucy and Natsu seemed to have worked out Lucy's anger and abandonment issues, and Sado and Mira were in a separate room with Hope. Sado sat in the window sill, sighing heavily.

"Are you alright?" Mira asked.

"Yeah," Sado smiled. "I just...it's not the best start to our trip."

"I'm sure it'll work out," Mira smiled. "If we have to, we could always have Romeo ask her."

Sado smiled. "I'm kind of depressed they didn't stay together."

"They're still young," Mira smiled. "They've got time."

Sado smiled and nodded, walking over and sitting beside her, kissing her before setting his head on her shoulder and brushing Hope's cheek. Hope smiled, yawning, then closed her eyes, falling asleep. Sado smiled, taking Hope and forming her a Fire Make crib. He set her in it, then sat back on the bed, Mira turning and laying down. Sado began to massage her feet, Mira smiling contentedly and closing her eyes. As he continued the massage, be began to slowly move higher up her legs. Mira didn't think anything of it, considering that he had been giving her spontaneous massages throughout most of her pregnancy and afterward. Sado, on the other hand, fully intended to make it a different kind of massage.

Mira sighed happily as he paused to work out a knot in her calf muscle, then again in her opposite thigh. Then, as one hand moved up to her hip, the other slid up to rub against her panties, Mira moaning then smirking.

"You really are impatient," Mira smiled. "I told you not until the baby's five months old."

"And yet, you're not stopping me," Sado said, leaning down and capturing her lips, trailing his tongue against her lip.

Mira pulled back, moaning again. "I guess you don't have to worry about me crying rape then."

Sado smiled, kissing her again, their tongues dueling. Then, just as he slipped his hand under her panties, an explosion shook the apartment.

"God dammit!" Sado complained, standing up as Mira laughed at his reaction. "Come on. Let's go clean up Lyon's mess."

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	107. Chapter 107

I do not own any of the original Fairy Tail characters.

* * *

Abandoned

Sado slowed to a stop as he watched the Lamia Scale guild hall explode. Lyon was present and did _not_ look pleased. Sado actually had to admit that he felt a sort of smug satisfaction to know that someone else's guild hall was being destroyed rather than his own. At the same time, he was mostly pissed off that someone had the nerve to destroy his friends' guild hall, though.

"What's going on?" Sado called out, Lucy and Natsu arriving at the same time.

Before Lyon could answer, a massive troll-looking monster exploded out of a building behind Lyon, only to be instantly encased in ice and sent crashing down the street away from the ice wizard.

"Nevermind," Sado said.

"It's Orochi's Fin," Lyon said. "Our rival guild."

"We've been rivals forever," Shelia said, running over with Wendy and Carla in her cat form. "They've sunk pretty low to use cheap tricks like this."

"They must have seen it as an opportunity now that Jura's gone and we let our guard down to throw the parade," Wendy said.

"So, let me get this straight," Sado sighed. "Your rivals, are monsters?"

"No you dimwit!" Ur snapped, walking over. "They lured the monsters here. Jeez. And to think you were _my_ student."

"Your best one, too," Sado said. "Obviously not the favorite, but the best."

"Oh is that right?" Lyon asked. "Want to spar after this?"

"You're on," Sado smiled.

"Lyon!" Yuka shouted. "This is only a small group! There are a hundred thousand coming from the other side!"

"A hundred thousand!?" Lyon gaped.

"Let's go Natsu," Sado said. "We'll handle the monsters. You guys take care of Orochi."

"Right," Lyon nodded. "Try not to destroy the city."

"You're worried about _us_ doing that?" Sado snorted. "Lyon, please. Have some faith. We'll leave a building or two standing."

"This is serious!" Lyon snapped.

"Relax," Mira smiled. "He's just joking around. I made him be less serious this past year, and it kind of stuck."

Sado and Natsu reached the edge of town just as Wendy and Shelia flew overhead with Carla in her human form and Happy. Natsu stared at them before shouting in rage.

"She stole Happy!" Natsu shouted.

"Focus on the fight Natsu!" Sado said. "First the monsters, then the thief."

Natsu turned to the horde of monsters approaching and roared, a blast of flames shooting out and obliterating nearly a fifth of the monsters in front. Sado blinked, staring at the damage.

"You've got to be freaking kidding me," Sado said, Natsu sprinting after Shelia and Wendy. "Okay...so...I'm not fighting him again for a while." He inhaled then roared, sending a wall of his own flames out, the flames throwing but not obliterating the monsters like Natsu's, also not killing any. "Yeah. I'm out of shape."

He slammed his hands together before separating them, forming three fire dragons who shot outward, beginning to tear into the horde of monsters. They continued to do so until the monsters reached Sado and he released them, sprinting forward and forming flames around his hands, beginning to fight the monsters himself. As he fought, Lyon, Ur, Yuka, Tobi, and even Loke and Lucy, who somehow had Loke's Regulus powers, began to help, fighting the monsters back as fast as they could arrive.

"I thought you were the powerhouse in Fairy Tail?" Lyon said as they fought.

"I was," Sado said. "Then Natsu trained for a year while I sat around and got out of shape raising a family."

He turned, roaring and sending a wall of fire out into the oncoming monsters, slowing the flood to keep it manageable. Just as he did, however, a much, much larger blast of flames went off in the distance, completely demolishing a mountain in the distance. Sado stared at it, mouth hanging open before sighing.

"I think I'm finally getting too old for this," Sado said.

Within a couple minutes, the monsters turned, leaving the city alone as Natsu, Happy, and Wendy returned, along with Carla and Happy. Sado sighed upon seeing that Natsu had successfully burned Shelia's shirt off. He pulled his coat off, tossing it to her and she pulled it closed, thanking him as Carla reported that Natsu had beaten Bluenote Stinger, the gravity user that used to be a part of Grimoire Heart, in a single attack and made the rest of Orochi surrender. They all headed back to the guild hall where Lyon and the rest of Lamia Scale thanked them again for their help before they all went to bed for the night. Once they woke up, Wendy met them at the guild, announcing that she was returning to Fairy Tail with them. A few minutes, and a few tearful goodbyes, later, and they were on the road again.

"Natsu," Sado said. "How much training did you have to do for your Fire Dragon Roar to get that powerful?"

"A year of it," Natsu said. "Where've you been?"

"We've been starting a family," Sado said, gesturing to Hope. "Didn't last long, typically. Just got started when Sorano sent us to meet you."

"Sorano?" Natsu asked.

"The chick that summoned angels," Sado said.

"Oh yeah," Natsu said. "She had the big boobs, right?"

"Natsu, most of the girls in the guild had big boobs," Sado sighed.

"Why are you looking at other girls' boobs Natsu?" Lucy demanded.

"What?" Natsu asked. "Am I not supposed to or something?"

"No!" Lucy shouted, punching him in the head.

"So Lucy," Sado said, deciding to change the subject. "Where to next?"

"There's a village to the west of here called Rainfall village," Lucy said. "Apparently, it rains constantly there."

"Juvia?" Sado asked. "But...what happened to make her go back to that?"

"I don't know," Lucy said. "I guess we'll find out."

Sado nodded and they left, heading that way. He took Hope as they did, Faith landing on his shoulder and rubbing her head against the sleeping baby's face, making her laugh. Sado smiled.

"You know, if you want to be guild master, you could still raise your family," Lucy said. "Mira could wait tables again if she wants to, or could just live there as a stay-at-home mom, and you'd be there all the time to be with her and Hope. Plus you'd have tons of time free to train."

"It's alright," Sado smiled. "We'll figure something out."

Mira nodded, smiling and wrapping her arms around him. Finally, they stopped as they found the town, storm clouds hanging over it, just barely large enough to cover the village and unleashing a never-ending torrential downpour. Sado and the others walked inside, Sado keeping Hope under his jacket to keep her dry. As they passed the houses, Sado noticed that they were all in poor condition, as though they hadn't been fixed up in a lot longer than a year, though a ceaseless rainstorm might have that effect too.

"Man, this place is a ghost town," Lucy said.

"Maybe everyone moved away," Happy said.

"Nope," Natsu said. "I smell Juvia. That way."

He pointed and they began to head that way. After a few minutes, they found her, seated on a bench out behind the only house that looked to be in good repair. As they approached, Natsu called out to Juvia, who looked up and instantly shouted about Gray, running toward them, only for Natsu to hold out a hand, stopping her as she ran into it.

"Sorry Juvia," Sado said. "It's just us."

"Natsu, Lucy, Sado, Mira, Wendy," Juvia said. "You're all here?"

"So are we!" Happy complained.

"Where's Gray?" Sado asked. "Don't tell me you broke up."

Juvia stared at the ground for a moment before swaying and beginning to fall backward, Natsu catching her. As they rushed her inside, Sado sent a fireball up into the clouds where it exploded, clearing the storm and warming the area.

"Why didn't you do that earlier?" Lucy asked, holding the door open for Natsu to carry Juvia through."

"Didn't think of it," Sado shrugged.

They lay Juvia on the bed and Wendy began to tend to her, reporting a fever.

"Well she's been out in the rain for who knows how long, so it's hardly surprising," Carla said from beside Wendy, still in cat form.

"I wonder if this is Juvia's house," Lucy said, looking around.

"It kind of smells like Gray, too," Natsu said.

"That's because they lived here together," Sado said, holding up a picture of Juvia and Gray, both smiling and with their arms around each other, looking every bit the happy couple he remembered.

"That's right," Juvia said. "My beloved Gray used to live here with me. We ate together, trained together, worked together, slept together."

Wendy blushed crimson.

"Too much information!" Lucy said.

"Not like that," Juvia said. "My beloved Gray wanted to wait for marriage before we did that. We merely shared the bed."

"Oh, that's not that bad then," Lucy said.

"We were happy," Juvia continued. "But then, one day, while I was picking up Gray's clothes, I looked outside and saw that his skin had begun to turn black on the right side. I asked him what was happening, and if he was alright, but he said it was nothing to worry about and left to get food. From that day forward, he would frequently go out alone. And then one day, he just stopped coming back altogether. This was half a year ago."

"No way," Wendy said.

"That little fucker," Sado snarled, everyone staring at him. "He's trying to act like he's becoming a demon."

"Why?" Lucy asked.

"I don't fucking know," Sado said. "I warned him that his Ice Devil Slayer magic would turn him into one if he wasn't careful, but that's not what happens. If he _had_ become a devil, he'd have gained these." He formed his Devil Traits, Hope beginning to cry instantly. He shifted back, beginning to bounce and rock her, Hope slowly quieting down. "Since's he's an Ice Devil Slayer, it'd all be ice. That's what happens when Devil _Slayer_ Magic becomes _Devil_ magic. You don't just turn black and take off."

"Juvia tried to look for Gray for days," Juvia said, beginning to cry. "But Gray was nowhere to be found. So Juvia decided to wait. This was where Juvia and Gray had been happiest together. Juvia's sure Gray will come back."

Sado sighed. Juvia hadn't spoken in third person for years. She must really be broken up inside. He couldn't imagine.

"I'll find him for you," Natsu said. "I'll have to find him. After all, we're bringing back Fairy Tail. We need him."

Juvia stared at him before rolling over and continuing to cry. After a little while, she had cried herself to sleep and they all went outside to talk. Mira took Hope to feed her and they all stood around the door.

"Do you know where to find him?" Happy asked.

"No," Natsu said.

"I couldn't find him either," Lucy said. "But, from what Sado said, I doubt he'd be in a normal guild. Not if he's pretending to be a demon."

"What happened to the Dark Guilds?" Sado asked.

"By the time we took down Tartaros, they had already cannibalized most of their own smaller guilds," Lucy said. "Whatever was left just disappeared. Probably from Crime Sorciere, but one way or another, they were all taken out."

"Then he's not in one of them," Sado said. "There's got to be something else."

"Sabertooth is near here, right?" Mira asked. "Maybe they know about some dark guild that isn't public knowledge, or maybe they know where Gray is."

"I doubt that very much," Sado said. "But it's worth a shot."

Mira nodded and Sado extended his wings, picking up Lucy as Happy picked up Natsu. Then, they flew into the air and toward Sabertooth.

* * *

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	108. Chapter 108

I do not own any of the original Fairy Tail characters.

* * *

Realization

Sado picked up Lucy as Happy picked up Natsu. Then, they flew into the air and toward Sabertooth, landing outside of the guild within a few minutes. Lisanna and Yukino came running out to greet them, Sado smiling and hugging both. After they released him, they both hugged Mira as well, congratulating the two of them the entire time before Mira passed Hope off to Lisanna, who was absolutely overjoyed to meet her niece for the first time.

"She's beautiful!" Lisanna beamed. "Oh my god, she's so adorable! And she has Mira's hair!"

"And my flames, along with a tendency to burn everything down," Sado smiled. "We would have brought Wendy along to say hi too, but she's tending to Juvia with Carla."

"What's wrong with Juvia?" Lisanna asked.

"She's sick," Mira said.

"Yeah, ever since Gray up and ditched her!" Natsu growled.

"He what!?" Lisanna gasped. "Why?"

"We think he's infiltrating some dark guild or something similar by pretending to be a demon," Sado said.

"There are no dark guild's left," Yukino said. "Come on inside. We'll see if any of the others can help."

They all walked inside and stopped, seeing a massively obese guy with blonde hair spiked backward and Lector standing beside him.

"Natsu, Sado, Mira, Lucy!" Sting said. "You haven't changed a bit!"

"Yo Sting!" Natsu grinned. "You neither bro!"

"Um...are we seeing the same thing here?" Sado asked.

"I don't know," Lucy groaned.

"Hey, where's Frosch?" Happy asked.

"He's on a job with Rogue and the Missus," Lector said.

"Where is he!?" Natsu demanded, grabbing Lector by the face.

"Hey what are you doing to Lector!?" Sting demanded.

"I dunno!" Lector said. "But it hasn't been long since he left! They might be at the edge of town!"

"Thanks!" Natsu shouted, sprinting out the door.

"What'd he want?" Sting asked, suddenly back to normal.

"Weren't you just fat?" Sado asked.

"It was getting to be a little much, so I had to use Libra's power on him," Yukino said, still holding the key.

Libra chuckled before fading.

"Well that's useful," Sado said. "Anyway, we're looking for Gray. He's pretending to be a demon, so we think he's trying to infiltrate either a little-known dark guild, or a group like Tartaros, or something like that."

"I don't know about anything like that," Sting said.

"I might have an idea, actually," Rufus said. "I recently heard rumors that Crime Sorciere was investigating a group known as Avatar."

"Avatar?" Sado asked.

"Yes," Rufus nodded. "There was something else. The person said that they found a sort of altar with a strange, "A" shaped symbol that he said was their crest."

"An 'A'," Sado asked. "Capital or lower case?"

"Capital," Rufus said, placing two fingers to his forehead. "It looked like-"

"This?" Sado asked, using Fire Make to create the same emblem as the book containing all of the devils' information that the Devil Slayer that robbed the Magic Council's library so long ago had left behind.

"Yes," Rufus nodded. "Where did you see it?"

"On a book left behind by a Devil Slayer that attacked me years ago," Sado said. "So, Avatar's the ones that sent them after me."

"Why would they have been after you for so long?" Mira asked.

"I don't know," Sado said. "But I intend to find out."

Just then, Natsu kicked the door inward, Sado and the others toward it.

"We're leaving," Natsu said. "We're taking Rogue's job."

"What is it?" Sado asked.

"We're destroying a group called Avatar," Natsu said.

Sado blinked in surprise before grinning and cracking his knuckles. "What a coincidence. I have a few questions for those guys."

Natsu nodded and Sado turned to Mira.

"I need you to stay here," Sado said. "We can't take Hope into a battle like that, and she needs you."

"It's alright," Mira smiled, kissing him. "I'll stay."

Sado smiled and nodded, then turned and followed the others out of the guild hall. They left the town behind, following Natsu's instincts for a while. However, after about an hour, Sado stopped, a chill rolling up his spine.

"What is it?" Lucy asked.

"I can sense you," Sado snarled, voice deeper than usual. "They're this way."

Natsu and Lucy exchanged confused looks before they all walked after him. Sado began to speed up, the others having to power stride to keep up with him. Finally, Lucy spoke up.

"Slow down!" Lucy said. "We can't keep up! What's got you so worked up anyway?"

"I can sense them from all the way here," Sado snarled. "They're in Mikage Forest."

"You can sense them from this far?" Lucy gaped. "How?"

"He's on _my_ turf," Sado growled.

"Wait, what?" Lucy asked.

"I may be mostly human," Sado said, "but the area I controlled as a devil remains mine. And if a devil steps onto another's turf, the devil that controls that area can sense it. We're extremely territorial."

"Clearly," Lucy said. "You're a human and you're still riled up by there being a devil here."

"I don't care about the turf," Sado said. "I care that there's a devil this close to Mira and Hope."

"You mean like the Tartaros Members, right?" Natsu asked.

"No," Sado said. "I mean a _real_ devil. One that is going to be going back to Hell very soon."

"You're scaring me," Lucy said.

"Sorry," Sado said, forcing himself to calm down and slow his pace. "We need to hurry. Avatar might move if we don't."

Lucy nodded and they continued on in silence.

* * *

Sado burned the branch out of his way, staring at the church before them.

"Future Rogue said that a year from the Grand Magic Games, which is pretty much right around now, we'd meet Gray again, but as an enemy," Natsu explained. "He said that Gray would kill Frosch, and that's what would cause Rogue to become what he was."

"So by taking the job from Rogue, we saved him," Sado said.

"But, shouldn't the future that ended with Future Rogue have already changed?" Lucy asked. "How do we know that it still would have happened?"

"We didn't," Natsu said. "But I figured it's better to be safe than sorry."

"They're inside of that church," Sado said, still staring at the church that was closer to castle, given it's size.

"Alright," Natsu grinned. "Let's go!"

Sado caught both Natsu and Happy, stopping them. "No. Not this time. Lucy, get us in quietly."

Lucy nodded, summoning Virgo, only for her to appear hogtied. "Virgo? What happened? Who did this to you?" Lucy asked, quickly untying the spirit.

"Don't mind me," Virgo said, standing. "I had some free time, so I decided to punish myself."

Lucy stared at her and Sado shook his head, smirking.

"Your spirits sure are weird," Natsu said.

"Star dress, Virgo form!" Lucy said, her clothes suddenly shining and transforming into a maid outfit with Virgo's symbol on her right shoulder.

"Her dress changed!" Natsu gasped.

"She sort of reminds me of a certain scary armored figure!" Happy said.

"The dress enables her to use parts of my power, and raise her own magic as well," Virgo said.

"Let's go Virgo!" Lucy said.

"Yes Princess!" Virgo nodded.

Then, both dropped into the ground, Sado following, then Natsu and Happy. Sado slid down the side of the tunnel a ways before it leveled out and he walked along it, lighting his way with a flame, Natsu doing the same behind him. Then, the tunnel turned upward again and Sado formed a winding, albeit very steep and tight, staircase, walking up it as Natsu and Happy did the same. Once they were inside, Natsu looked around.

"GRAAAAAAAY! ! !" Natsu shouted, Lucy and Sado staring at him, mortified. "COME ON OUT WHEREVER YOU ARE! ! !"

Sado growled in annoyance, punching Natsu in the jaw. "You idiot! We're supposed to be sneaking in! You realize that this is filled with people probably just as strong, if not stronger, than Tartaros? Than Mard Geer?"

Natsu glared right back at Sado. "He's here."

"I know!" Sado snarled. "My skin's crawling from his Devil Slayer Magic. But we're not sneaking because of him! We're sneaking because of the devil that's here!"

"It's time for punishment isn't it?" Virgo asked, then gestured to a wedge of wood with a dragon head on one side. "In that case, please test this one out on me."

"Shut up!" Lucy snapped.

"What are you doing in here?" a voice above them demanded.

They all looked up, seeing a young-boy-looking person with a striped turban bigger than his body, clown face paint with diamonds around his eyes, a cheetah print shirt with black pants, and pointed-toe shoes staring down at them, holding a small cloth doll in his hands, one which Sado instantly sensed was a cursed doll.

"What are you doing in our basement?" the boy asked.

"I guess there's no choice," Sado sighed. "Natsu. Attack."

* * *

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	109. Chapter 109

I do not own any of the original Fairy Tail characters.

* * *

Assault

"I guess there's no choice," Sado sighed. "Natsu. Attack."

The short child-looking person dropped to the ground, smiling. Then, Natsu stepped up over him, holding out a hand. The thing in front of them stared up at him for a moment before flames sprung to life on Natsu's hand and he chopped the thing in the head, flattening it against the ground, knocking it unconscious. Everyone stare at him in a mixture of shock and exasperation.

"Sorry, but the only one I have beef with right now is Gray," Natsu growled just as someone else ran in.

This one had a black kimono with a white cloth around his waist, long bushy eyebrows that stuck out from his bald head, wooden sandals, and a shield on his right arm.

"Abel!" he shouted before covering his face with his right hand, beginning to sob dramatically. "How dare you do this to Abel intruders!? However, for you to appear in my training room must be my lucky day! Prepare for an endless torture session!"

Suddenly, dozens of random torture tools appeared in the air around him. A metal collar with spikes on the inside, mallets, pliers, blades, a chisel, a whip with five strips of leather as the tails, and a pair of shackles with iron balls attached to them by chains. Suddenly, the torture tools began to fly at them in a massive flurry of random and painful looking objects, more types of tools appearing and flying at them as well. Natsu avoided them while Sado lit his hands on fire, batting the objects that flew at him away, deciding to get some practice in while he had the chance.

"Try this!" the man shouted. "Wooden Dragon!"

A massive pointed bench-like object with a wooden dragon head on the front end appeared in front of the man, flying at Sado, who smirked, stopping it with his foot.

"You call that a dragon?" Natsu scoffed.

Suddenly, the man waved his hand, two fingers extended, and the bench was enveloped in smoke, disappearing as an iron maiden appeared behind Sado, shooting forward and swinging closed. Sado's blood ran cold and he spiked his power, flames exploding off of his body just as the iron maiden slammed closed, his flames heating the spikes cherry red and making them deform against his skin. He began to push his flames hotter, trying to melt his way out. However, suddenly, the face liquified instantly, falling away and revealing Natsu's smirking face, the man unconscious against the wall. Natsu pushed a hand down against the front of the iron maiden, the metal melting almost the instant his hand was near it, freeing Sado in seconds.

"I had it handled," Sado said.

"Yes, but I handled it faster," Natsu said.

Suddenly, a massive thing with a black body, a white mask with a single eye in the center, and horned demon-themed pauldrons leapt into the air above them. As it descended, however, Sado jumped, flipping and sending flames exploding out of his right foot's toes, sending his heel crashing into the side of its head, sending it exploding into the wall.

"That the one?" Natsu asked.

"No," Sado said. "I'm not sure what that is."

"Well, three down," Natsu asked. "How many left?"

"Three or four, I think," Sado said. "Including the devil."

"Im...Impossible," the bald man said from the wall, barely conscious. "We're all powerful black wizards. How could...brats like them..."

"They're not someone that can be beaten by the likes of you," a voice said from above, both turning toward the stairs, seeing Gray standing at the top, gazing coldly down at the pair of them.

"Yo," Natsu grinned. "You been doing well?"

"So, Gray," Sado growled, stepping forward. "Care to tell me why you're-"

"You shut the fuck up, or I'll send that brat of yours home her father in tiny frozen chunks," Gray growled. "And then I'll pay that devil spawn a visit in person."

Sado's flames erupted to life but Gray narrowed his eyes and something in them made him pause. There was something off. Something he couldn't quite make out. He grit his teeth, forcing his flames back under control as Natsu and Gray both charged, throwing a punch and slamming it into each other's jaw, both staggering backward.

"What are you two doing?" Lucy shouted. "Stop it!"

"What are you all doing here!?" Grey demanded, lunging and punching at Natsu, who blocked it with his forearm, his flames fighting against Gray's ice instantly, then threw a punch back.

"Right back at ya," Natsu said, Gray leaning out of the way of the punch.

"I do what I want!" Gray said, then crossed his arms as Natsu's foot crashed into them, sending him skidding backward.

"Juvia's waiting for you, bastard!" Natsu shouted. "She's so worried that she's sick! And we need you back to bring back fairy tail!"

He lunged, punching at Gray, who stepped out of the way, then drove a punch of his own into Natsu's jaw, throwing him away.

"This is stupid," Gray said before slamming his hands down, sending massive ice spikes exploding outward after Naruto, Sado leaping out of the way of the ice spikes, using his flames to avoid the lethal strike. "Fairy Tail is no more!"

"That's what they all say!" Natsu shouted, swiping a hand and sending out a blast of flames, the way Sado had taught him to do before the Grand Magic Games so long ago, blasting the ice. "But all the memories, and the bonds we shared, are still there!" He thumped his fist against his chest, over his heart. "Fairy Tail's right here, has been and always will be."

"You solution's right there, then, isn't it?" Gray asked. "If it's as you say, then you'd have no need for me. So just leave me alone, will you? You go your way, and I'll go mine."

"Gray..." Happy said.

"Fairy Tail is no longer a part of me, so just drop the whole BFF act with me," Gray said.

Lucy seemed to have heard enough. She walked up to Gray and slapped him, hard. "BFF act? It wasn't an act! We're friends til the end!" She lowered her head as tears began to run out of her eyes. "Please don't say things like that! I can't bear to hear it! I...we..." Her eyes widened slowly before she groaned, falling to her knees, clutching at her abdomen. "My...stomach! It hurts!"

"Mary?" Gray asked, not bothering to look back at the person behind him.

Sado stared, though. It was her. The devil. She had a black hairband with cat ears on it, shoulder-length reddish pink hair, a black turtleneck dress ending a third of the way down her thighs with black on her shoulders and arms, white across the middle, and black again along the bottom, the black and white separated in a jagged line, white cuffs, black stockings, and black shoes. Around her neck was a necklace of white crescent shapes and and a blue gemstone in the center. The most striking thing about her, besides her true species, was her eyes, however, as she had orange irises with thin, gold, four-point stars inside of them in place of pupils. She smiled innocently, watching Lucy writhe on the ground in agony.

"Who are you people?" she asked, tilting her head to the side sweetly. "Gray's friends from before? The ones from that guild that no longer exists?"

Sado took a step forward just as pain blossomed through his own body, bringing him to his knees as he felt several organs begin to shut down. His eyes widened in shock. He vomited instantly, struggling to stand again as the bald man suddenly appeared behind Natsu and Virgo, wrapping a glowing chain around virgo and placing a pair of glowing cuffs on Natsu's wrists, both infused with bane particles, trapping both. Sado regained his feet as the boy, Abel, began to play with his doll, Happy mimicking the doll's actions. Sado turned on Mary, his flames exploding to life, forming his Devil Traits before encasing his body.

"Get over here!" he shouted, exploding off of the ground at her, Mary shrieking in surprise and fear, barely escaping his claws.

He flipped, landing on his feet and she turned toward him as he exhaled a jet of pure white flames at her. She screamed again, diving aside, barely escaping as it exploded against the wall, cracks shooting over everything before Gray encased the room in his Devil Slayer Magic's ice, stabilizing it. Before Sado could attack again, however, Mary clapped her hands and he dropped, Devil Traits fading as he vomited blood. He groaned, looking off to the side to see Natsu struggling to reach Lucy, a chain wrapped around him as well now, only for a man with a white coat, shaggy blonde hair, black pauldrons, black pants and boots, and a white shirt appeared over Lucy, holding a purple-bladed sword to her throat.

"Stop right there," he said calmly, Natsu complying.

"It hurts so bad!" Lucy whimpered, tears running down her face.

"Princess!" Virgo said worriedly.

"This is what happens when you don't mind your own business Natsu," Gray said.

"Cut the crap man!" Natsu said. "Quit pretending to be a devil and come back with us."

"A devil?" Gray snorted. "Please. I'm no devil. I'm a Devil _Slayer_. I'm not turning into something as disgusting as _that_ ," he looked at Sado, "anytime soon."

Sado saw Mary bristle slightly, but she relaxed herself, maintaining her innocent expression. Gray shrugged his coat off, exposing the Avatar crest where his Fairy Tail emblem should be.

"The Fairy Tail emblem is gone," Gray said. "I made the choice to get rid of it, so I could find my own answer."

"You'll regret that," Natsu growled.

Sado vomited more blood, feeling his head start to spin, but struggled to stand again, Mary looking over at him in surprise.

"If I shut down any more of his organs, he'll die," Mary said.

"I'll handle it," the bald man said, binding Sado in sealing stone chains, Mary easing up slightly to allow him to live, though still keeping him in pain.

Then, as Sado began to stand, Gray slammed a hand into his neck, knocking him out.

* * *

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	110. Chapter 110

I do not own any of the original Fairy Tail characters.

* * *

The Devil

Sado opened his eyes, his skin beginning to crawl instantly and he grit his teeth. Something was off. He could sense Mary, the bald guy, and Gray, but the rest of them were gone. But the part making his skin crawl was something else. And whatever it was, Mary was right beside it. He looked around, finding himself attached to the wall by sealing stone shackles on his wrists and ankles. Natsu had his hands bound and was sitting against the wall, as was Lucy, and Happy was shackled around the waist.

"Why am I the only one not allowed to sit down?" Sado asked.

"I guess they just don't like you," Natsu said.

"I wonder why Gray's acting like this," Lucy said. "Is it possible that he's starting to slip and not realize it?"

"I don't think so," Sado said. "Something about the way he looked at me seemed...I don't know...like he was trying to tell me something. Like...maybe there's more going on here than we think."

Just then, the bald man walked in, stopping in front of the cell and bowing to the open air in front of it.

"He's bowing to thin air!" Lucy gaped.

"So creepy!" Happy shouted.

"Hey baldy!" Natsu shouted, slamming his shoulder against the cell bars. "Where's Gray!? Bring him to me right now!"

"Gray and the others have all left," the man said. "I alone was left to try and figure out who sent you after us, under pain of extensive torture, of course."

"Good luck," Sado smirked. "You'll never break me."

"You're not the one I'll be torturing," the man said, Lucy's shackles suddenly glowing and lifting her into the air, Natsu's and Happy's suddenly yanking them to the wall, suddenly being bolted there like Sado's.

"He can control his torture devices without touching them?" Happy gaped.

"You weren't paying any attention at all during the fight, were you?" Sado asked. "Now, just to be sure, you said that the one and only person in this building besides us, is you? No grey, no turban-wearing brat, no robot freak, no sadistic bitch?"

"That is correct," the bald man nodded, stepping into the cell. "They've all gone to prepare for the purification ritual."

"The what?" Happy asked.

"The purification ritual," the man repeated. "The purification of all unclean souls. Only the slaughter of countless innocents can beckon our lord Zeref to us."

"You realize that Zeref will literally kill you for that, right?" Sado asked. "Zeref loves life. And if he doesn't care enough to kill you, he'll ignore you completely."

"You know nothing," the bald man said, a table appearing beside Lucy, who was still suspended in the center of the room. "Clearly you don't since you haven't noticed my outfit."

"What about it?" Sado asked.

"I've been cosplaying Lord Zeref," the man said. "I believe I pulled it off perfectly. I even love Lord Zeref so much that I got this tattoo. It's not a language I read, but I was told it reads, 'Zeref rules.'"

"Yeah, you got straight up lied to," Sado said. "It actually reads as powdered tea."

The man stared at him before shouting in rage. "Shut up you filthy devil!" He yanked the sheet off the table, exposing the torture tools underneath. "So, which should I use?" He held up the tools one at a time as he asked Lucy what she would prefer. "I could use a whip, a candle, water, rope, or even the licking of your feet."

Sado stared at him, deadpan.

"So, what's your cup of tea?" the man asked, turning and bowing to the empty corner.

"You're disgusting," Lucy said. "And stop bowing to nothing, you creep!"

"If I were you, I'd go with feet-licking," Natsu suggested. "How bad could that be?"

"Just the thought of it grosses me out," Lucy said.

"I don't think you grasp the true nature of this torture," the man said, holding up a bottle of salt water. "Allow me to enlighten you. First, I lather your feet in salt water. Then, a goat begins to lick the feet for the salt. However, the salt will make it thirsty. The thirsty goat's tongue will become scratchier and scratchier, eventually taking the skin of your feet off, but the goat will just keep licking, trying to quench his thirst."

"That actually sounds kind of painful," Sado said.

"Indeed," the man said, turning to Lucy, and quickly lifting her legs, pulling her shoes and stockings off. Let's try it out, shall we?"

"No, stop!" Lucy shouted as he quickly tied her feet to a wooden stand, holding them still, a goat walking to the door of the cell.

"You'd better get real talkative, before this girl starts walking on stumps," the man said.

"We already told you everything we know!" Natsu shouted. "We just came here to take Gray back with us!"

"I don't believe you!" the man said.

"It's true!" Sado said. "Our team is notorious for going off half-cocked and not having a plan!"

"Gray's our friend!" Natsu shouted. "And if he doesn't believe in himself, we'll believe for him!"

"Shut up!" the man shouted, his previously squinted eyes suddenly wide open.

Instantly, Lucy's restraints changed, holding her horizontal with her legs spread instead.

"Lucy!" Happy shouted.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing!?" Natsu demanded, pulling desperately against his restraints.

"This situation demands more desperate measures!" the man said, an axe appearing in his hands, which he pulled back instantly. "I'll split her in half! You may have faith in Gray, but he won't save you!"

He swung downward and a deafening, in human roar blasted through the cell, Sado's restraints blasting off of him in four sprays of liquid metal and bursts of blood red flame. Then, Sado was standing beside Lucy, a Fire Sake Sword holding the axe at bay just short of Lucy.

"Mira, Hope, Faith, Mira, Hope, Faith, Mira, Hope, Faith," Sado chanted, teeth clenched and hands white-knuckling the grip of his sword as he struggled with the rage and hatred trying to flood through him, finally managing to settle it and sighing.

"What is this?" the man demanded, stepping back, axe still raised. "What are you saying? How did you break your restraints?"

"They bock magic," Sado said. "Not curses. And I was saying Mira, Hope, Faith. The three most important things in my life. My love, my daughter, and my phoenix."

The man huffed and stepped forward, pulling the axe back again, only for ice to suddenly encase him. Sado sighed in relief, letting his sword fade.

"You took a big risk using that curse," Gray said, stepping into the cell, his hair, which was previously slicked back, back in its usual style. "I was going to stop him.

"It was only for a second," Sado said. "But yeah, I did."

Gray sighed, ruffling his hair as his magic energy flowed into the room, freezing the others' restraints, which then shattered. "Dammit. You guys really do ruin everything don't you? You always were best at that Natsu." He pulled out a small square object with transparent green glass in the middle of the metal frame. He pressed a button on the side the glass it up, several small white circles appearing on it. He pressed one and swiped to the side before holding the object to his ear. "Code Blue. I've hit a snag." The black markings on his body began to recede, shrinking back to their original tattoo form. "No, not that kind of snag." As they left his chest, it left his Fairy Tail emblem uncovered again, exactly as it should be. "Yeah, that's the one...I don't know. You ask him yourself. Yeah, he's right here." He tossed the object to Natsu. "Hold that up to your ear."

"Oh yeah?" Natsu asked, holding the thing to his ear. "And what's it supposed to do?"

"Is that you Natsu?" Erza's voice asked from the object, Sado barely able to hear it and grinning widely. "Your meddling has blown Gray's undercover mission."

Sado felt the crawling sensation suddenly return, stronger than before, and his head snapped up to the ceiling. "I'm going to go and deal with Mary. Fill me in after."

"Mary?" Gray asked. "She's gone. I saw her leave."

"Some devil's can cause minor hallucinations in humans, even Devil Slayers," Sado said. "She's still here, and she's up to something."

"Wait, Mary's an actual devil?" Gray asked, eyes wide.

Sado nodded, walking past Gray, then up the stairs nearby. He followed his senses through the church's massive interior, allowing the crawling to draw him in, a sinking pit in his stomach as he began to suspect what it was. Finally, he pushed open a set of double doors, finding himself in what he had to assume by the size was one of several naves. This one was massive, more than a hundred meters across, mostly rounded, and littered with corpses. Hundreds of them. They were piled against the walls, in five mountains, and every single one was a nude female. Sado gaped at it, his instincts instantly doing a body count. Six hundred sixty five. Every single one raped to death. He knew this ritual. Every devil knew this ritual by pure instinct alone. He walked forward, walking around one of the mountains of corpses and stopped, seeing that the mountains were placed exactly where they should be, the points of the pentagram drawn on the ground in virgin blood. Because that was how it went. Six hundred sixty six virgins, all raped to death. Twenty three of them being sisters who were forced, whether by force, brainwashing, or other forms of manipulation, to rape each other. And standing in the center of the pentagram, which was glowing with a bloody light, was Mary.

"Mary," he snarled.

"Hello again brother," Mary smiled back at him. "You're just in time. It's about to open. All the sacrifices have been made. Lucifer will rise soon."

"Have you lost you _god damned mind_?" Sado snarled, flames forming over his hands. "Do you have _any idea_ what the hell you've done?"

"I summoned our father," Mary smiled.

"No," Sado snarled. "You raped six hundred sixty five women to death! twenty three of them you forced to rape their own sisters to death!"

"Oh please," Mary snorted. "They all loved every second of it. I may use the black magic virus, but I'm a devil of lust, corruption, and manipulation first and foremost."

"I know," Sado snarled. "That's why you were able to convince the rest of them that you had left, and why none of them can sense this...atrocity."

"Oh just admit that you want to tap it," Mary laughed. "You only knew what I was because you wanted a piece."

"I'd sooner cut my own dick off and carry it with my asshole," Sado snarled. "And in case you didn't notice, I said six hundred sixty five. You miscounted. You're one virgin short."

"I am?" Mary asked. "Huh...that must be why he's not responding. Oh well. That blonde bimbo downstairs is a virgin. I'll just sacrifice her too."

"You're not going to do anything to my friends, and I'm _definitely_ not letting you summon that sadistic fuck," Sado growled.

"What're you going to do about it?" Mary smirked, pain flooding through Sado as his organs shut down rapidly, dropping him instantly. "All you can do is sit there and watch as I rape your friend to death."

She turned, starting to walk away, only for Sado to roar in rage, shoving off of the ground and tackling her to the ground. She grinned wickedly instantly.

"I told you you wanted-" she was cut off by Sado driving his devil claws into her chest, impaling her heart and lungs.

"You're not opening the seal," Sado snarled.

"No...but...you...did," Mary grinned, blood pooling below her and spreading toward the center.

He stared at it before looking back to her, confused.

"You've been...human...too...long," Mary smiled, eyes starting to glaze over. "Last...sacrifice...rape...is...optional."

"But you raped the rest of them," Sado snarled. "You're not a virgin anymore!"

"Used...toys," Mary grinned. "I...win...you...stupid...fu..."

Her head rolled to the side and Sado stood, feeling his body go cold as the bloody light intensified until the pentagram shone. Then, all of the corpses around him turned red and fell to the ground in a tidal wave of blood, the pentagram shining through it as it began to spiral in the center of the room, a tiny spot of light appearing there. Sado backed away, getting outside the pentagram again just as the door burst open and Mira ran in, stopping beside him, eyes wide with fear and confusion.

"Mira!?" Sado gaped. "What the fuck are you doing here!?"

"I...I had a...a vision, I think," Mira said. "You were afraid, screaming for help. Then there was this light, but it was so dark. And there was smoke and fire everywhere."

"I see," Sado sighed. "Well, the darkness with fire and smoke is Hell. And the light is probably Lucifer. This is his gate. Some devil bitch opened it."

"What do we do?" Mira asked. "Can we stop it?"

"Maybe," Sado said. "I could...but..."

"What?" Mira asked.

"It requires a willing sacrifice," Sado said. "I'd die. And my soul would become the seal."

"Absolutely not!" Mira snapped. "You are _not_ sacrificing yourself!"

"Mira this is _LUCIFER_! ! !" Sado shouted. " _The devil_! He _cannot_ be allowed to get free!"

"There has to be another way!" Mira argued, tears in her eyes.

"There isn't time to find one!" Sado said.

"I might have an alternative," another voice said, both spinning, seeing Sorano step through the door, staring at the seal, one hand to her chest. "I could summon all of my angels, they could close the seal."

Sado opened his mouth to respond, only for a blinding white light to suddenly shine from the center of the pentagram. The last of the blood drained out of the room through a hole in the floor, Sado able to see what looked like a jagged, roughly cut, stone tunnel leading down from the hole, smoke flooding out of it and out through the nave's shattered windows, the light from below shining even through the thick black smoke.

"It's too late," Sado breathed. "He's coming."

"Can we fight him?" Mira asked.

"Not a fucking chance," Sado laughed, falling to his knees in defeat. "Lucifer could even crush Acnologia like a fly. We wouldn't be able to touch him."

"We have to try something," Sorano said, light around her hands as Adriel formed behind her, aiming at the hole already, murder written all over his face. "Besides Raguel, I've never tried, and I don't know if I can do it safely, but I can summon the other Archangels too. Maybe Michael?"

"Not yet," Sado said, standing, forming his Devil Traits. "If the summoning kills you, we're fucked."

Mira shifted into her Sitri form and Sado took a slow, steadying breath.

"I love you Mira," Sado said. "I wish we could have stayed at that cabin."

"I don't," Mira smiled. "I love living as a guild wizard. And I will never regret leaving, because we were able to see our friends again. I got to see Lisanna again. And I know that Lisanna will take care of Hope and Faith. And if she can't, Ur will be there to help."

Sado smiled, nodding. "If she's around Ur too long, she'll probably grow up a lesbian."

Mira laughed. "Worse things have happened."

Sado smiled before it faded as the light began to grow even brighter. "Don't let his appearance fool you. Lucifer was always the most beautiful of God's angels."

Mira and Sorano both nodded. Then, he was there. Adriel fired but Lucifer raised a hand, the arrow fading before it reached him, Adriel shining before the light faded, Sorano barely seeming to notice, both she and Mira staring at Lucifer in awe. Sado merely glared at him. Beautiful was so much of an understatement that Sado felt like he shouldn't be allowed to speak anymore as punishment. Lucifer was indescribably. He was, as the bible said, "perfect in beauty." There was so much light, but Sado felt nothing but fear. He knew that Mira and Sorano felt it too, but he also knew that Lucifer, being Lucifer, was able to manipulate with a word, so they wouldn't be able to flee or fight if they had to. Sado doubted even he'd be able to.

"Hello Sado," Lucifer smiled, his perfect, melodious voice making nothing but terror flood through Sado. "How have you been?"

"Shut up!" Sado snarled. "I know you don't care about me. I'm a devil. You hate us even more than humans. you care about nothing but yourself. So just shut up already and go home before God sends the Archangels to force you."

"I see," Lucifer said. "Well, you're partially right. I _do_ hate devils, and humans. Humans are flawed, disgusting, imperfect, creatures, and yet, God would have us angels love them as we love him. And devils are...well...devils. I'm sure you understand that part. However, you...you're different. In some ways, you're like me, though entirely by accident. Once you regained your memories, you chose your own path. You chose to live as a human. You chose to love a human, a being that you were created to destroy, and you chose to hate me. That will, the will to love who you wish, and to live as you wish, that is what made you different. When humanity was created, do you know what I was cast out for? I loved god too much. I wished to live my life loving God and my brother and sister angels. I didn't want to love humans, as you do not wish to love devils. And for that, I was cast out. I was imprisoned in Hell. In a tiny seal that is the equivalent of a cage too small for my body."

"Do I look like I care about your sob story?" Sado snarled, Lucifer chuckling. "You do realize I'm Christian, right?"

"Yes, I know," Lucifer smiled. "A devil loving my father. You were created with a hatred of him and all of his creations, save for myself. It helped to make you kill humans for entertainment, or for me, or for a list of other reasons, if you hated God. But you choose to love him. To follow his teachings. I'm so proud of you for that. I'm so proud of you for choosing your own path in life."

Sado grimaced. "The devil is proud of me. I think I'm going to be sick."

Lucifer chuckled again, then sighed as a high-pitched ringing began to echo through the room, the ground trembling. "Ah, that'll be my brothers. Well, it seems that the time has come to leave. I only wished to kill the devil that believed themselves worthy of summoning me. But it seems you did that already as well. Farewell Sado. Take good care of Mirajane."

Then, he was gone, the light retreating back into the hole before wooden boards suddenly flew back up out of the hole, filing the hole seamlessly, as though it had never been there. The ringing and trembling stopped and Sado fell to his knees, feeling the strength drain out of him as his Devil Traits faded. To either side of him, Mira and Sorano also fell to their knees, their minds slowly beginning to catch back up tot he present, processing everything that had just happened.

"That was..." Sorano trailed off.

"Yeah," Sado smiled tiredly. "That was my father. We got his blessing Mira. Don't we feel honored?"

"Actually, I feel a little sick," Mira said, holding a hand to her stomach.

"Yeah, that'll be the opposing reactions from the devil and human in you," Sado sighed. "It'll settle down in a bit."

He lifted her up, kissing her. She sighed, kissing him back for several seconds before he pulled back and she smiled.

"Better?" Sado asked, Mira nodding.

He helped Sorano up as well. "What exactly are you doing here, Sorano?"

"I was passing by the forest, by chance, and thanks to my Angel Magic, I sensed the portal," Sorano said.

"It may not actually have been chance," Sado said. "Come on. Let's go find the others. They're probably all wondering what's going on."

Mira and Sorano nodded and they all turned, walking out of the room and heading toward the dungeon.

* * *

Leave a review.


	111. Chapter 111

I do not own any of the original Fairy Tail characters.

* * *

Monstrous

Sado stared at the empty cell before groaning. "Those fucking assholes ditched us."

"Where to now?" Mira asked.

"Let's get outside," Sado said. "We'll have the boys track them down."

Mira nodded. "Good idea."

"The boys?" Sorano asked. "I really hope you're not talking about your balls. Fun a situation as that might end up, it's not really the time or place."

Sado and Mira laughed, all of them running through the hallway to an outer wall, Sado blasting his way through it and dropping to the ground, Mira and Sorano landing beside him. Sado whistled and the ground began to melt into lava, his three hellhounds rising out of it, this time much, much larger, nearly half the size of a horse, and with a Fire Make Saddle and reins already prepared.

"I can't ride a lava dog," Sorano said.

"Hellhound, and yes you can," Sado said. "I made sure their bodies weren't hot."

Sorano gingerly reached out to one and found that he was right, its body was barely warmer than the air around it. She climbed on, Sado and Mira climbing on theirs as well.

"Find Natsu," Sado ordered.

Instantly, all three took off, streaking through the forest, their excessively long flame claws digging into the ground and allowing them to run faster. Any roots or low branches that got in their way, or the way of their riders, the hellhounds blasted with a fireball. After about five minutes, the hellhounds reached a clearing and they all yanked on the reins, skidding to a stop, finding Gajeel, Panther Lily, Levy, and an entire division of the Magic Council's enforcement unit waiting, prepared for a fight. Gajeel blinked before a wide grin spread over his face.

"Well well," Sado grinned. "Gajeel, wearing a Magic Council uniform. Will the miracles never cease."

"You're a sight for sore eyes," Gajeel grinned. "We thought you were Avatar."

"They already took off," Sado said.

"They what!?" Gajeel shouted.

"Yeah," Sado said, placing his hands together then swinging his right, a Fire Make horse forming for each person in the clearing. "We'll tell you what we know on the way, but we gotta move, fast."

Gajeel nodded, everyone limbing onto a horse before Sado and his friends took off, the enforcement unit following.

"First off, Gray's been under cover in this branch of Avatar," Sado said. "Avatar sent the Devil Slayers after us back when we had Devil's Claw around. Don't know which branch or where they are, but Gray, Natsu, Happy, and Lucy all took off to try and stop their Purification Plan, probably Erza too, which I assume is what you're doing here. Oh shit!" he yanked the reins, skidding to a stop, the others doing the same.

"What?" Gajeel asked.

"There's an Avatar member in the church still, he was frozen by Gray, but I'm not sure how long that will last," Sado said.

"I'll take a group back to detain him," Sorano said. "The dungeon, right?"

"Yeah," Sado nodded.

Sorano turned her hellhound around, taking a small group of Magic Council mages and heading back the way they had come. Sado and the others continued on as they were. As they rode, Levy looked around and turned to Sado.

"These horses are faster than normal ones, aren't they?" Levy asked.

"Much," Sado nodded. "We need to catch up to the others, and I don't know what they're riding, so we're going to go fast."

Levy nodded. "So, did you two ever start a family like you wanted?"

"Yeah," Sado smiled. "We have a daughter, Hope."

"That's great!" Levy smiled. "Where is she?"

"Lisanna's looking after her while we deal with Avatar," Mira said. "Something really urgent came up and I had to leave her with Lisanna. I hope I left enough food."

"How old is she?" Levy asked.

"Three months," Sado said. "We planned to switch to a bottle within the month, but then Natsu showed back up and...well...you know how plans go with him."

"That's a good point," Levy smiled. "I'm sure Lisanna can figure something out."

"That's true," Sado nodded. "So Gajeel..."

"No," Gajeel said. "Just no."

"I was only going to ask if you ever figured out how to control Dragon Force," Sado grinned. "What were you thinking about?"

Gajeel grumbled a string of words that sounded suspiciously like swears and Sado and Mira laughed.

"So, let me get this straight," Panther Lily finally spoke up. "Natsu, Gray, Lucy, and possibly Erza are all going after the assembled Avatar together, while the entirety of the cult is all in one place?"

"That's right," Sado nodded.

"Then why are we bothering to go?" Panther Lily asked. "By the time we get there, there'll be nothing left of them."

"Simple," Sado smiled. "I don't want them to have all the fun. I haven't been able to have a good old-fashioned beat down with my friends for a year. Granted I was too comfortable and happy to miss it, but now that we're starting Fairy Tail back up, I remember how much fun it was. I can't let them take all of the fun. I want some too."

"Damn right," Gajeel grinned. "Wait, what about Fairy Tail?"

Sado laughed.

"We're reassembling it," Mira smiled. "And we're considering either me, Sado, Laxus, or Erza as guild master."

"That's great!" Levy smiled.

"Count me in," Gajeel grinned. "Fairy Tail wouldn't be Fairy Tail without me."

"That's true," Sado laughed. "Not anymore at least."

"I'll come to," Levy smiled. "It sounds like fun."

"If Gajeel's going, I'm going too," Panther Lily said.

Sado nodded just as they burst out of the trees at the top of a mountain. They all slowed to a stop, watching the explosions, ice formations, water, tornados, a cow and a whip, and Erza that were tearing through Avatar, rapidly beating them into comas. Out of the thousands present, barely two hundred were left. On the ground a short distance away, Sado could make out the blonde with the sword that had threatened Lucy to stop Natsu. He could sense one of the ones he hadn't met in one of the countless ice formations Gray had formed, and he could make out the large thing with the one eye and the brat both heading for Natsu. Sado rolled his eyes.

"Typical," Sado sighed. "All the fun ones are down already."

"There's still those two," Gajeel said pointing at Abel and the big one.

"They're heading for Natsu," Sado snorted. "He's stronger than me now. He'll be fine."

"He's stronger than you?" Gajeel gaped.

"I took a year off and got out of shape, and Natsu spent a year training," Sado said. "I'll catch back up, though. Eventually. I hope."

Gajeel shook his head, smirking. "Okay, what about the creep with the staff that's just standing there?"

Sado scanned the army until he spotted him, the last one that he had sensed before, the apparent leader who was dressed like a priest but with a metal mask. Sado nodded. "I'll handle him. You guys go enjoy the cannon fodder."

"You sure you don't want help tubby?" Gajeel asked, grinning.

Sado rolled his eyes. "I'll be fine Gajeel. But I'm happy to know you care."

Gajeel rolled his eyes and Sado extended his wings, taking off at the priest, forming a Fire Make Sword as he flew, slashing at the priest as he reached him. The priest spun, deflecting the blade with his staff, stabbing the three sharpened points at him. Sado flipped aside and landed behind the priest, who turned toward him, steam curling out of his mask.

"Master Arlock!" one of the cult members beside him said worriedly, just before Sado swung a hand, blasting them all with an explosion, Arlock being the only one to withstand it, thanks to a transparent barrier he had formed in front of himself with a few waves of his staff.

"Not bad," Sado said, the barrier crumbling. "You're actually pretty skilled."

"Thank you," Arlock said. "Of course, you must realize that everything that has happened up until now has been according to my plan. When Ikusa-Tsunagi shakes the earth, that is when the purification shall begin."

"Ikusatsunagi," Sado mused. "One of the Yakuma Eighteen War Gods. I suppose that explains the mask. You really burned your face for that thing, didn't you?"

"And you would not?" Arlock asked.

"The only god I will ever acknowledge as a god is the Christian God," Sado said. "Anything else is just a cheap trick or a monster with too high a price."

Arlock chuckled, raising his staff. "Well, let us see if the price was worth it."

He swung his staff, a purple sphere of magic energy shooting out of the end and at Sado, only for Sado to slash it, sending it blasting into an Avatar member instead. Then, Sado shot forward, slashing at Arlock, who blocked it with his staff, twisting and snapping the blade. Sado flipped, flames exploding out of his elbow as a glowing white version of his Devil Claw formed over his hand, slamming into Arlock and flattening him against the ground before exploding, a massive crater being blasted into the ground. He landed over Arlock and jumped back, glaring at the priest. Arlock laughed, sitting up, the mask shattered around his mouth, no other damage visible. He sighed as he was sitting up straight again. Then, he took a deep breath.

"NOW, IT'S TIME! ! !" Arlock bellowed. "OH MIGHTY GOD OF WAR, TIME FOR YOU TO SEAL YOUR PART OF THE DEAL! ! ! GRANT ME YOUR POWER! ! ! IKUSA-TSUNAGI, I SUMMON THEE! ! !"

A burst of magic energy shot into the sky, rising into a cloud before the cloud began to spiral and darken rapidly, more and more storm clouds gathering. The world quickly began to darken, Sado sensing a massive power forming in the clouds. He turned away from Arlock, watching the clouds as purple lightning began to flash. Then, a massive armored foot with three toes and a thumb-like extra toe on the inside, all of them with a red claw and purple armor plating, descended from the clouds crashing down and crushing dozens of Avatar members. Then, the other foot descended, crushing even more, shattering the ground this time. Behind Sado, Arlock began to laugh.

"You're sacrificing Avatar," Sado said. "It was never about the village."

"That's right," Arlock said. "Now die."

Sado turned just in time for one of Arlock's energy blasts to explode against his chest. However, when the smoke cleared, Sado was unharmed, glaring at Arlock.

"Bad move," Sado growled.

He walked over, stomping on both of Arlock's shins and snapping the bones, then broke both forearms as well. Arlock screamed and Sado turned away again.

"Stay here," Sado said. "I have to go clean up your mess."

He formed his Devil Traits and flew into the air over the battlefield, watching as the rest of Ikusa-Tsunagi appeared from the clouds. It wore a metal splint skirt with yellow along the middle in random patterns, a thick metal belt with yellow similarly wrapping around the middle of it and spikes along the top and bottom of the belt, long, messy white hair, a messy white beard that reached halfway down its chest, a pair of wide horns on the sides of its hear like Mira's Sitri form, a pair of longer, thinner ones that reached out from the back corners of its jaw and curved forward like pincers, and a pair of short thin ones just inside the fat two and sticking straight up. Its entire body was covered by purple plating, though it could have been its skin, and it held a massive sword in its clawed right hand. It raised the sword and Sado prepared himself. Then, Ikusa-Tsunagi slashed, his sword exploding into the ground and shattering it, sending a gash speeding away from itself, past the horizon. Sado's jaw fell open. The thing was terrifying. He took a steadying breath before glancing at the sword, seeing Natsu sprinting up it. He smirked. Leave it to Natsu to challenge a god alongside Sado.

Sado expanded his left Devil Claw, streaking forward and drilling the fist into the monster's eye. The fist exploded, doing absolutely nothing to the thing. Sado flipped, forcing his flames hotter, forcing more power into them as he expanded his foot, flipping around and kicking it. The flames again exploded, still doing nothing, and Sado shot backward as the war god's free hand flash past, barely missing him. Then, Natsu landed on top of its head, holding his fist up, gritting his teeth.

"I _will_ defend my friends!" Natsu snarled, flames exploding to life on his hands, the flames shooting upward and expanding, quickly dwarfing the war god's head. "I won't watch anyone else die while I'm forced to sit by and watch! These are Igneel's flames! Fire Dragon King's Demolition Fist!"

He slammed his fist down into the war god's head and the flames exploded, the blast hurling Sado away. Sado flipped, stopping himself and watching as cracks shot across the war god's body before it all but exploded into gigantic chunks of debris. Sado flew forward, catching Natsu and lowering him to the ground. As they landed, he sighed, looking around, finding the others all heading over to them, the rest of the council forces arresting the surviving Avatar members.

"Well well," Natsu smirked. "Levy and Panther Lily. And...a guy that looks like Gajeel?"

"You trying to pick a fight Salamander?" Gajeel demanded.

"No, but the Gajeel I know would never work for the council," Natsu said.

"Yeah, that's true, but Tree Gramps found me and asked, so how could I say no?" Gajeel asked.

Sado internally debated whether or not Warrod had been joking at the time.

"And you're under arrest too, Salamander, for having a face like that," Gajeel grinned. "And you Lucy for indecent attire."

Lucy blushed scarlet as Gajeel moved on down the line.

"And you for eating too much fish," Gajeel said, pointing at Happy. "And Juvia for being a puddle of water. And you for...uh...well..." the finger he had pointed at Wendy drooped momentarily. "Well I dunno, but I feel like I should arrest you anyway." He moved on to Mira and Sado. "And you for being a devil, and you for having a kid with a devil."

Sado shrugged and Mira smiled, wrapping her arms around one of Sado's.

"And you," Gajeel said, stopping at Gray. "I don't even have to _tell_ you, do I Gray? I'm not as forgiving as the others."

Then, Erza arrived, punching Gajeel in the back of the head.

"Huh, you sure are acting high and mighty for someone who looks like Gajeel," Erza said.

"I'm the real Gajeel!" Gajeel shouted.

"Nope, there's no way the real Gajeel would make it into the council," Erza said.

"Okay, stop teasing him," Sado chuckled.

"Wait, he's real!?" Erza and Natsu both shouted.

"Wait, so...you both actually thought he was an imposter?" Levy asked, not as surprised as she would have thought.

"Some things never change," Sado chuckled. "Anyway, now that it's over, we can get started on restoring Fairy Tail. Now that we have most of the main power houses back, we should be able to get the rest to come back on their own once we make the announcement."

Natsu grinned, punching his hand. "Right!"

"But before that, me and Mira have to go pick up our daughter," Sado said.

"Wait, the kid's yours?" Natsu gaped.

"What the hell did you think?" Sado asked.

"I thought you took a babysitting job," Natsu said.

Sado groaned, resting his face in his hand. "You know, sometimes it amazes me that you can be as belligerently overpowered as you are and still be so stupid. It wouldn't even surprise me if you didn't know where babies come from at this point."

"Psh," Natsu snorted. "Igneel told me that one. The wyverns drop them off in baskets, then they hatch out of their eggs once you warm them."

Sado sighed, shaking his head. "Like I said. Not surprised."

"What?" Natsu asked.

"Let's just focus on getting back to Sabertooth's guild hall," Mira said. "Someone can volunteer to teach Natsu that time some other time."

Just then, Sado noticed Frosch standing with the other three Exeeds. He felt his stomach drop as Gray knelt beside Frosch. He held his hand behind his back, a fireball forming before his hand, just in case. Then, Gray hugged Frosch, calling him cute, and Sado sighed, letting the fireball fade, catching a tiny flicker of flame fading from Natsu's hand as well.

"Alright," Sado said. "Come on. Let's go see how much of Sabertooth guild hall Hope's burned down."

Mira smiled knowingly and nodded. "Probably quite a bit."

"She's got flames?" Gajeel asked.

"Gajeel, I'm the father," Sado snorted as they walked toward a mountain where they could see Sting and Rogue walking toward them. "Was there ever a chance of anything else?"

Gajeel chuckled. "I suppose not."

They met up with Sting and Rogue, then a few minutes later, they were on their way back to Sabertooth's guild hall, Mira flying on ahead.

* * *

Leave a review.


	112. Chapter 112

I do not own any of the original Fairy Tail characters.

* * *

Truth

Sado walked through the streets of Magnolia and smiled, remembering various random things, like shopping at one store or another, walking with Mira down this street or that, the first time he had ever met Mira. It had only been a year since they had left, but it felt like so much longer. And now, everyone was with them, except Gajeel, Levy, and Panther Lily, who had gone back to the magic council to report on the Avatar situation, then turn in their resignations. Lisanna and Yukino had both also decided to return to Fairy Tail, though Sado was pretty sure Yukino was simply following Lisanna, who wanted to be with her family.

"It's so...I don't know...nostalgic, I guess, being back," Sado said.

"Yeah," Mira smiled. "We were never far, but it feels like we've been away for a long time."

Sado nodded in agreement, stopping as he reached Lucy, who had stopped.

"When you think about it, everyone else should have moved on with their lives by now," Lucy was saying. "I don't know if everyone feels the same as we do. What if...what if they've forgotten about the guild? I-"

"Yeah right!" Cana snorted, drunk as always and with a half-full wine bottle in her hand as she wrapped her arms around Lucy's shoulders. "As if I could forget in only a year!"

"Cana!" they all smiled.

"Hey everyone," Cana smiled as Bacchus stepped out of a side street behind her, grinning as he spotted Sado.

"Well well, the Fire Devil himself," Bacchus grinned.

"Bacchus?" Sado blinked. "What are you doing here?"

"Well I couldn't let my girl walk back all alone, now, could I?" Bacchus laughed. "Besides, if Fairy Tail's gettin' started back up, that's gonna be one hell of a party."

"That's true," Sado nodded. "Wait, your girl?"

"Oh yeah," Cana smiled. "I didn't have any better ideas of who to crash with, so I figured I'd go where I'd get the most alcohol. Then things just kinda...fell into place." She pulled out a letter. "It was dumb luck I actually got this thing, too. I was just about to go looking for Gildarts. I suppose the same can probably be said for everyone else, but I was in the guild since I was a kid. I didn't even know how to live outside the guild. When we were forced to disband so suddenly, I didn't know what to make of it. I suppose it was a good lesson to learn, though. I'm sure the others all feel the same. Now come on. Everyone's waiting."

"Everyone?" Lucy asked as Cana began to drag her toward where the guild hall had been, the others following.

They reached the area within seconds and stopped, seeing that almost everyone was there. Only Ur and Sorano weren't out of the main group. Everyone else had returned. Even before Sado had finished taking a moment to recognize everyone, Asuka had run forward and practically climbed up him to be high enough to see Hope. He laughed, holding her as the others laughed as well, Asuka staring at Hope in awe and adoration.

"What's her name?" Asuka asked.

"Hope," Sado smiled.

Asuka smiled. "Hi Hope! I'm Asuka!"

Hope smiled, then burped and sent a small ball of flame into the air, the others staring before beginning to laugh.

"Looks like the apple didn't fall far from the tree," Macao laughed.

"Just far enough, thank God," Sado smiled.

Then, Elfman and Lisanna reached them, Elfman staring at Hope with even greater awe than Asuka. Mira smiled offering him Hope, and he accepted her, holding her carefully, as though afraid she might shatter at any moment. Sado noted that he had gotten even bigger in the last year, making Hope look tiny by comparison. He glanced to the side in time to see Romeo hug Wendy, no one else paying them any mind since Lucy had started crying tears of joy and they were all comforting her. Sado grinned, nodding toward them as Mira glanced at him and she grinned as well. After a few more minutes, everyone turned to the crater that had once been their guild hall as Natsu lifted the Fairy Tail flag that had been on top of the guild hall, the flag torn and the flagpole chipped and cracked, but they all smiled at the flag proudly.

"We're back," Natsu grinned.

"Finally," Sado smiled. "We should invite the other guilds for a welcome back party in the old guild hall, since we'll have to use that until we fix this one."

"Oh yeah," Natsu grinned. "This is gonna be fun."

Sado laughed before Hope began to cry. Elfman began to panic, but Mira laughed, pulling a bottle out of one of her dress's pockets and handing it to Elfman, showing him how to hold Hope and the bottle. Elfman smiled widely and Mira leaned on Sado's shoulder as they all stood around, talking about what they'd been up to. After a little while longer, they all began to head for the old guild hall.

* * *

Sado laughed, watching the others drink, brawl, laugh, and everything else that came with a Fairy Tail party. Even some of their friends from other guilds had shown up. Ur, Lyon, Shelia, Sting, Rogue, even Ultear and Sorano. Mira sat beside him, leaning on his shoulder, Elfman on the other side with Hope, and Cana and Bacchus alternating between trying to out drink each other, and serving the rest of the guild drinks.

"Come on Sado, party with us," Cana said.

"When did I ever take part in the parties?" Sado laughed. "This is how it always was."

"That's true I suppose," Cana laughed. "Except for the kid, nothing's really changed."

Sado smiled. That wasn't quite true. Now that they were all together for more than a few minutes, he _could_ see slight differences. For one, Romeo and Wendy were definitely closer than before, and Romeo didn't seem so nervous around her. For another, he could definitely tell that Lisanna and Yukino weren't just friends, though he couldn't really tell what they _were_. Then, the one thing he had hoped would be forgotten was brought up when Ur plopped down on the stool beside him.

"So, Sado," Ur smiled knowingly, already able to tell he knew what was coming. "About those pictures I never got."

"How do you even remember that?" Sado asked. "How do you even still _care_ about that?"

"I never forget a debt," Ur said. "And I was actually going to say not to bother with them. But hey, since you're so worked up over it, feel free to if you want."

Sado rolled his eyes. "You're horrible."

"And you're out of shape," Ur smiled. "You let Natsu, of all people, pass you."

"I think he's got you beat too, now," Sado said. "He has yet to actually go all out, and he's already proven he far exceeds the rest of us."

"True," Ur nodded. "I missed this, you know? I miss getting Natsu and Gray with Lucy and Juvia."

"You could always get Romeo and Wendy together," Sado said. "They're getting there, but they might need a little push."

Ur laughed. "Nah. I'll let them handle it themselves. However, I _am_ going to see what's going on between Ultear and Sorano."

"Good idea," Sado smiled.

Ur pushed off of the stool and walked away and Sado sighed, slipping his hand into Mira's.

"You think she's going to make us take the pictures?" Sado asked.

"No," Mira smiled. "She was just messing with you."

Sado nodded, smiling and kissing the top of her head, then settling in to watch as Gray and Natsu began to argue.

* * *

Sado paused by the table where Levy was filling out the paperwork for them to restart Fairy Tail as Levy mentioned needing to fill in one of the boxes.

"Which box?" Wendy asked.

"Who's going to be our seventh Guild Master?" Mira asked, looking up at Sado questioningly.

Suddenly, a crash echoed from off to the side and they turned, watching as the work dissolved into a brawl, everyone joining in, even Loki. Sado sighed, setting the logs he was carrying down and inhaling, taking a few steps away from the table before spiking his flames.

"HEY! ! !" Sado thundered, everyone freezing, staring at him. "Thank you. Now, I'm going to say this once. If anyone here wakes up Hope, that person is going to get lit up like a fucking match stick."

They all stared at him, then at the sleeping infant in Mira's arms. Instantly, they scrambled back to work and Sado sighed, walking back to the table.

"I'll take the spot," Sado said. "If only to fill in until we can convince Master Makarov to come back."

"Oh, we should go and let Porlyusica and him know we moved back into town," Mira said.

"I'll send a Fire clone to Porlyusica's," Sado said, forming one, which took off instantly. "Master Makarov will probably figure it out when he sees we're not there. Or Porlyusica will tell him."

"No, she won't," a voice off to the side said, all of them turning, Sado smiling as he saw Doranbolt.

"Hey Doranbolt," Sado smiled. "What do you mean she won't?"

"Mest," Doranbolt said. "I've been waiting for all of you to get back together. You're the only ones that can save Master Makarov."

"Save him?" Sado asked. "But me and Mira just saw him about two months ago."

"I know," Mest said. "Come with me. The first thing you need to know as the new guild master is the true nature of _that thing_."

"Okay, but Mira's coming with me," Sado said. "She'll be the stand in guild master if I'm away, so I want her to know everything I know."

Mest stared at him before nodding. "Fair enough."

He led them off to one side of the crater, lifting some debris out of the way, exposing a long stairway. They stepped in and Natsu stepped up beside them.

"Stay, Natsu," Sado said.

"But-" Natsu began, but Sado glared at him, silencing him.

"Erza," Sado said. "No one, especially Natsu, is allowed down here."

"Understood," Erza nodded, picking Natsu up by the back of his scarf and carrying him back over to where the rest of them were working.

Sado and Mira continued down the staircase after Mest, Sado leaving his hellhounds to guard the door.

"So, what are we going to see?" Mira asked. "And since when has this been here?"

"Always," Sado said. "This is where the Lumen Histoire is kept. It's Fairy Tail's greatest secret. Fairy Tail's light. Of course, I don't actually know what is _is_ , but I heard about it while I was still a devil."

"You already knew more than you should have, then," Mest said as they reached a large room with a Fairy Tail emblem on the ground and a massive stone double door on the far side. Mest pushed it open and stepped aside. "Now you understand why it's a secret. Under normal circumstances, I wouldn't be allowed down here either."

"But you can alter your memories to erase it, so you're a borderline exception," Sado said, staring at the giant crystal before them.

It shone brightly, and inside, trapped and unreachable, was Mavis Vermillion. Her real body. Nude and with her long hair just barely covering her, seeming to be asleep. Just as Sado was about to speak, there was a crash behind them and they turned, seeing Erza, Lucy, Natsu, Gray, Wendy, Happy, Carla, and Sado's three hellhounds outside the door, everyone but the hellhounds having fallen into a pile while trying to peek through the door, and the hellhounds all panting with their tongues hanging out, each holding a small rubber ball, tails sweeping back and forth across the floor. Sado sighed, resting his face in his hand.

"So much for guarding the door," Sado sighed.

Mira giggled. "Looks like the year of them being house pets stuck."

Sado shook his head, turning back to Mest. "I assume you can explain this?" He gestured to Mavis, ignoring the others asking why Mavis was crystalized under the guild, and Lucy covering Natsu's eyes when it occurred to him that she was naked.

"I can't," Mest said.

"Where's Gramps!?" Natsu demanded suddenly. "You know don't you?"

"I do," Mest said, holding a hand to the side of his face, his memories suddenly filling all of their heads. "Nine years ago, or two for all of you, since you were all on Tenrou, I was given a mission by Makarov. Infiltrate the Council. I could erase my own memories, rewrite them as I wished, allowing me to be the perfect insider. I was to find out as much information as possible about the Wester Continent. Makarov wouldn't tell me why, but he said it was to protect the guild. At first, I didn't erase my memories, but after a while, I convinced Master Makarov to allow me to. And once I had, I made sure he had a way to return them to me when we met. He stopped by frequently, checking in on what information I'd found out, though I never remembered why. Only that he stopped by to see me about once a month. Then, I decided to infiltrate Fairy Tail under the name Mest, my actual name. I had thought I was doing it to find out Fairy Tail's secrets. It's why I was there for the S-Class promotion trials. And also why Master Makarov named me as a candidate.

"Seven years later, when you all returned, Master Makarov wanted to end my mission, but I was close to the information he wanted. So he allowed me to continue. Then, after the war with Tartaros, he disbanded the guild. He said that the information I had gathered led him to the action, as the only way to protect the guild. He warned me that the empire of Alvares in the Western Continent was dangerous. They tried to invade about ten years ago from that time, about eleven ago from now, but failed. Master Makarov said that it was the Lumen Histoire that stopped them. They invaded in order to obtain the Lumen Histoire. They were stopped by the Etherion. And Face was the council's back up plan. They didn't want to fight against Alvares if they didn't need to. But now, ever since the war with Tartaros, the council was gone. There was no longer an Etherion, or Face. Ishgar was defenseless if Alvares invaded again. I argued that as long as Fairy Tail was around, Ishgar was never defenseless, because we could fight them, but Makarov said that was exactly why he was disbanding. He said there are five hundred magic guilds in Ishgar, including Fairy Tail. In the Western Continent, there are seven hundred thirty, including dark guilds. All seven hundred thirty of those guilds joined together into a single, military-run empire, Alvares.

"If they invaded, and Fairy Tail fought them, it would be the same as seven hundred thirty guilds fighting one, even if that one _was_ Fairy Tail, and even if all seven hundred thirty of the guilds from Alvares were made up of only average-strength wizards, it's still impossible for one guild to win. So, Makarov had a plan. He was going to go to Alvares, warn them that we would use the Lumen Histoire if they invaded, and stall as long as he could."

"Wait a minute, that's impossible," Sado said. "He visited Mira and me in the cabin a bunch of times."

"No, he didn't," Mest said. "The Makarov that visited you was an artificial one created from copies of his memories into a special kind of Lacrima. It was his idea, a way to keep you, Sado, from following him there. He had wanted you to have a peaceful life, and raise a family."

Sado stared at the ground in silence. "It was...fake?"

"After he left, I followed Master Makarov's orders to get the council up and running again," Mest said. "With the help of Master Warrod, got a temporary council going with the Ten Wizard Saints."

"Oh yeah," Lucy said. "I remember hearing from Lyon that the council wanted information on Master Makarov's whereabouts too."

"Master Warrod knows what's going on, but I'm certain the others do not," Mest. "However, the threat they feel from Alvares is the same. They've been sending reinforcements to the Western Continent and strengthening their defenses there."

"But if the old man's trick had worked, he'd be back by now, right?" Gray asked.

"Well, yeah," Mest said.

"Unless he can't get back," Sado said. "He may have been captured. He may be remaining there to continue stalling. Something else, or some new information, may have arisen and he has to stay to deal with it, but for whatever reason is unable to send us a message about it."

"Then we're going to help him, right?" Natsu asked.

"Yes," Mest nodded. "I've done what Master Makarov asked me to do. So starting now, I do what I want to do, as a member of Fairy Tail."

"If everyone's together, we're unbeatable!" Happy said.

"Let's all go!" Carla said.

"No," Sado said. "Not yet, at least. If Master Makarov believed the enemy too powerful for us to defeat even with his help, we can't go after him without a plan."

"Sado's right," Erza said. "We have to be careful."

"We've all gotten a hell of a lot stronger in the last year!" Natsu argued. "I ain't gonna lose no matter how tough they are!"

"So you're saying you would trample on the master's feelings, even though he's there to buy us time?" Erza asked.

Natsu stared at the ground.

"We're not ready," Sado said. "Natsu, did you ever learn to control your Dragon Force?"

"No," Natsu sighed.

"I thought not," Sado nodded. "Our first priority is going to be getting Fairy Tail on its feet again. While we do that, Natsu, you're going to be training with Sting, Rogue, and Wendy to learn how to control Dragon Force. Gajeel too. I'll be getting myself back into shape while you do. However, we need to rescue Master Makarov at all costs. And soon. You have two weeks."

"And then we infiltrate Alvares?" Erza asked.

"Yes," Sado said. "You all need to keep in mind, doing this, rescuing Makarov, it's most likely going to start a war, as well as angering Makarov. And we have to assume that anyone we fight in Alvares will be capable of defeating us. We can't go there picking a fight, Natsu, this goes mainly for you. We're going on a rescue mission. That means no being detected, no picking fights, and no making a fuss over things. _Anything._ Understood."

"Right," the others nodded.

"Natsu, I mean it," Sado said. "Even one fight will likely start a war."

"I understand," Natsu said.

"Good," Sado nodded before grinning knowingly. "And Gajeel, since I know you're listening it, go ahead and give Sting and Rogue a call. You need to start your training as soon as possible."

"Gajeel?" Erza blinked before sighing. "Should have known."

"Mira, I'm leaving you in charge of the guild while we're away," Sado said. "For obvious reasons, this mission will require a small group. Only those of us in this room. However, Gajeel, being Gajeel, will be gathering a secondary group to help."

"Likely candidates?" Lucy asked.

"Juvia," Gray said.

"Cana," Lucy said.

"Ur," Sado smirked.

"Laxus," Erza smiled.

"It's the Grand Magic Games all over again," Mira smiled.

"Yeah," Sado nodded. "At least their team is almost entirely able to control themselves. Juvia's the only one that might slip up, but without Gray around she should be fine."

The others nodded.

"Are there any devils over there that we'll need to worry about bringing you?" Erza asked.

Sado thought for a long moment before shaking his head. "I don't know, to be honest. I never cared about the other continents. I only ever bothered paying attention to this one. And barely even all of that."

"Right," Erza nodded. "Well, we should get back."

Sado nodded. "Remember. Two weeks. Use them wisely."

They all nodded and headed back up the stairs, Sado concealing the entrance again and erasing its location from the minds of everyone but Mira and Sado, though leaving everything that had happened inside for those that were there. Then, they all set about preparing for their trip.

* * *

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	113. Chapter 113

I do not own any of the original Fairy Tail characters.

* * *

Blowing Cover

Sado leaned against the mast and stared ahead at the land mass before them. To his right, Natsu was sea sick. To his left, so was Wendy.

"Well well, it looks like Wendy finally graduated," Sado smiled.

"I don't want to graduate," Wendy whimpered before vomiting again.

"As things stand now, she won't be able to cast Troia," Carla said.

"Alright, I'll carry you two in then," Gray said, carrying the Dragon Slayers into the ship, then returning in his underwear.

"Where are your clothes!?" Lucy demanded.

Sado smiled, turning back to the front again. At the front of the ship, Erza was also deep in thought. Mest walked over to stand beside her.

"What's wrong Erza?" Mest asked.

"It's just...the guild's disbandment...the secret mission...Master Makarov went to such great lengths to protect us, and to keep the Lumen Histoire out of the enemy's hands," Erza said. "I can't help but feel that as long as the true nature of the Lumen Histoire remains a mystery to us, everything we do is...meaningless."

Mest was silent for a moment, the others also quiet. "It could be...some kind of...weapon...maybe." He chose his words carefully, but more as though he was thinking it through himself and voicing his thoughts.

"No," Sado said. "The Lumen Histoire isn't the crystal. It's Master Mavis' body itself. Or...well...Master Mavis, _herself_."

"How do you know?" Erza asked.

"Because I could sense that Mavis was alive inside that crystal," Sado said. "The ghost of Mavis Vermillion we've been seeing is an Astral Projection, not an actual ghost."

"How long until we reach Alvarez?" Erza asked.

"Ten days to reach the Western Continent by ship," Mest said. "So, I'd say...a few more than that before we reach the capital. I understand you're impatient, but we can't afford to mess up now. We need to make a stop at Caracall Island before proceeding to refill our supplies.

"Do we have that kind of time?" Gray asked.

"Like I said, we can't mess up now," Mest said. "Preparation is important if we're serious about infiltration."

"We'd better stock up on medical supplies there too," Sado said. "We won't be able to count on Wendy to heal our injuries if we get into a fight."

"Good idea," Mest nodded. "We'll be meeting our intelligence guy in Caracall. That's when we'll plan our route."

Sado nodded and they all settled in to wait. Caracall was about a day away, so they had time. Sado flew up to the crow's nest to practice his control while they waited. The last two weeks had done wonders for all of them. They hadn't finished the guild hall, and instead had focused on training, but Sado was about back to where he had been during the war with Tartaros, Natsu and Gajeel had both gotten the hang of entering Dragon Force on command, though they couldn't sustain it long, from what Sado had seen, and everyone else had grown a lot stronger quickly. Even Mest.

Finally, Sado opened his eyes, seeing Caracall, but also seeing a pair of massive black ships docked there. "Drop the anchor!"

He shouted, the others quickly doing as commanded, Sado staring at the ships. He dropped to the deck, landing beside Mest, who was looking through a spy glass, not looking happy.

"Alvarez Empire navy ships," Mest said.

"What are they doing here?" Sado asked. "Caracall's not under Alvarez rule, is it?"

"It shouldn't be," Mest said.

"It sounds like...they're...looking for spies," Natsu groaned miserably from where he and Wendy were leaning on the railing to vomit.

"It doesn't...look like...they've found them...yet," Wendy added.

"You guys can hear what's going on?" Lucy asked.

"A little," Natsu groaned.

"What do we do?" Mest asked.

"We need to find those spies before Alvarez does," Erza said.

"Wait," Sado said. "We don't know exactly what's going on."

"We won't until we get there," Erza said.

Sado sighed, looking around at them carefully before he looked to Erza, seeing her grinning widely. A knowing smirk spread over his face and he sighed.

"Alright," Sado sighed. "I guess we'll go with plan three then."

Lucy and Gray both grinned knowingly as well but Mest's eyebrows furrowed.

"Plan three?" Mest asked.

"Vacation," Sado smirked. "Everyone change into a bathing suit. Then we'll all fly over to give Wendy and Natsu a chance to recover. Lucy, Erza, you two will probably have to flirt our way through."

"Right!" Lucy grinned.

"Piece of cake," Erza smiled.

Everyone went below deck, Carla helping Wendy change, while also putting a bathing suit on her human form, and Gray helping Natsu, then returned to the deck and all took off, flying low to avoid detection until they reached the island. Once they had, Erza pulled out a magic stamp, arranging it into a Cait Shelter emblem, using it to cover all of their Fairy Tail emblems. Then, they all slipped in with the new arrivals. A few minutes later, they had gotten past the heavily armored Alvarez troops thanks to Lucy and Erza standing too close and making their breasts look as large as possible. Something Wendy was completely depressed about. However, there were a lot of troops inside the town itself as well.

"Natsu, no acting on your own," Sado warned. "You don't know how to be discreet, so you're not allowed to do anything without Lucy's permission. Lucy, keep him out of trouble."

"I-" Lucy was cut off as a child's voice began to scream.

"Give me back my daddy!" the child wailed, clinging to one of three Alvarez troops in front of them. "Where is he!? Where's my daddy!?"

"This brat's exactly like his rebellious father!" one of the soldiers spat.

"Shut up brat!" another said, only for the child to continue to cry.

Natsu took a step forward but Sado held out a hand, stopping him.

"Wait," Sado said.

Finally, the one the child was holding drew his sword, holding it with the blade downward. "If you won't stop, I'll shut you up myself!"

"Hey!" Sado called out, walking forward as the three soldiers turned to him. "You guys sure are a piece of work. That child's scared and misses his father. He's to young to understand what's going on. Killing him won't help. You just need to have someone calm him down."

"Who the fuck are you?" the soldier with his sword out demanded.

"I'm new here," Sado said. "But murdering a child for missing his father is wrong no matter where you are. So for your sake, I suggest you sheathe that sword."

"And _I_ suggest _you_ move along and mind your own damn business," the soldier snarled. "I'll do what I damn well please to annoying brats who don't know when to shut their mouths!"

"Have it your way, then," Sado said.

Then, he shot forward, drilling a fist into that soldier's face just as Erza and Natsu reached the other two, dropping them equally quickly while Wendy began to comfort the child. Sado sighed, resting his face in his hand before turning back to the others.

"Mest, how long would it take you to rework everyone's memories?" Sado asked.

"Too long," Mest said.

"Then go meet the informant," Sado said.

"Right," Mest nodded, vanishing.

"Wendy, Carla, find the child's father," Sado said.

"Got it," Wendy nodded, she and Carla leading the child away.

"No one uses magic," Sado said. "Unless it's unavoidable, avoid showing your skills."

"Right," the others nodded.

More soldiers began to swarm into the area, but as they attacked then, Sado and the others dropped them quickly, every single one dropping with one or two hits. Finally, they had dropped them all and Sado looked around.

"You sure these are the guys the old man was worried about?" Gray asked.

"These are the grunts," Sado said. "They're barely stronger than the Magic Council's grunts. But that doesn't meant that out of seven hundred thirty magic guilds they have no powerful wizards."

"Should we ask one of them about Gramps?" Natsu asked.

"No," Sado said. "These guys wouldn't know anything, and then they'd find out who we are and what we're after. We can't allow that to happen. Not yet, at least."

"Excuse me, could you please try to keep it down?" a man off to the side asked, setting out dishes of what looked like gelato for them, Erza and Natsu already sitting down and eating.

"You seem pretty calm about it," Sado smiled, also sitting down and trying some.

"And you're even opening up shop anyway," Lucy said. "That's some business spirit you've got."

"Fights happen around here all the time," the man shrugged. "Besides that, I'm trying to save up enough money to make it to Ishgar."

"Oh, really?" Lucy asked.

"That's right," the man nodded. "My dream is to popularize star mangos in Ishgar, and spread delicious desert across the country."

"That sounds like an excellent dream," Erza smiled.

"I may be stuck in this shabby hut for now, but I'm a man with big dreams," the man said. "No way an ordeal like this will-"

Then, his hut exploded.

* * *

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	114. Chapter 114

I do not own any of the original Fairy Tail characters.

* * *

Trouble

Sado dusted himself off calmly as the last of the hut's debris clattered to the ground, the smoke thinning, revealing the Fire Make Shield that had protected the man inside.

"Well done," a man said, clapping slowly as he walked toward them. " _Very_ well done."

He was about their age with a purple jacket and pants with blue on the cuffs, the border of the jacket, and the cuffed bottoms of his pant legs, a white undershirt with the collar popped, a purple and blue striped headband with a pair of sun glasses over it, and long messy hair that stuck up from his head in a wind-blown look.

"Who are you?" Erza demanded, fury written all over her face. "How dare you!?"

"That's quite the wonderful face you're making," the man said. "Well done. The name's Marin Hollow." He held an arm across his abdomen as he bowed slightly, the other arm off to the side and a cheerful smile on his face. "And I'm from the Brandish Squad of the Alvarez Empire."

"Everyone stay back," Sado said, stepping forward. "He's different from the others."

"Then allow me," Natsu grinned.

"No," Sado said. "You stay exactly where you are. I'm going to handle this one in person. You're all to famous for your own good. Here." He tossed a bag of money to the man. "I'm not sure if it's enough, but it should help. Now get out of here."

"I will exact revenge for the mangos," Erza growled.

"Well done, well done," Marin smiled. "You'll get a compliment from me anytime."

"Enough nonsense," Erza growled. "I'll show you the wrath of the deserts."

"Don't!" Sado growled.

"Requip!" Erza said, but when the light faded, nothing had changed. "What? I can't use my requips?"

"Of course you can't," Marin said. "Space is something I own."

"Space?" Gray asked.

"The knight," Marin said. "It's a kind of magic that allows you to instantly wear whatever you want. That's why you can't use your spacial magic against me."

"In that case-" Lucy began, but Sado caught her hand.

"Enough!" Sado growled. "Celestial Magic, first of all, is also Spacial Magic. And secondly, I believe I said I would handle this myself, did I not?"

They others stared at him and Sado stepped forward, lighting his hands on fire.

"By the way," Marin said. "I forgot to mention. Those who try to break my laws get an invitation to my personal relaxation space."

Both Erza and Lucy began to transform into smoke, fading quickly. Natsu tried to grab them, but they were gone before he reached them.

"What did you do to Lucy and Erza?" Natsu demanded.

"Didn't you hear me?" Marin asked. "I said I took them to my relaxation space. They both did so well that I decided to keep them. But you three all failed. You hear me!? You failed Jackass!"

Then, Sado's fist drilled into his abdomen, lifting him into the air before Sado flipped, smashing a foot into his back and blasting him into the ground again. Sado jumped back, landing beside Natsu and Gray as Marin stared at him before pushing himself up, a sadistic grin on his face.

"Impressive," Marin smirked. "I thought you might be fun after you shielded that man with no time to react. But this? This is going to be more fun than I've had in years. Here, allow me to return this to you."

He snapped his fingers and Mest appeared, crashing to the ground in a heap, groaning.

"Mest!" Natsu gasped.

"This one tried to use Spacial Magic in front of the great me!" Marin shouted, veins sticking out on his face and neck. "Failures! Unclean! How dare you try to use Spacial Magic in front of me! It's not something for Men to use, dammit!"

Natsu shot forward, punching at Marin, the flames around his fist exploding outward. However, Marin appeared behind Natsu, completely unscathed.

"Do you know who I am?" Marin scoffed. "I'm the master of Spacial Magic!"

Natsu spun, chopping at him, but Marin was suddenly behind him, drilling a punch into his back.

"And right now, you're in _my_ domain," Marin said, then appeared behind Gray, slamming a knee into the back of his head. He teleported to Sado next, but Sado caught his punch, narrowing his eyes.

"You may be a teleporter, and you may even be a good one, but I don't use Spacial Magic, and I've been attacked by every Teleportation Magic there is," Sado growled.

Marin appeared behind Sado and flames exploded out of Sado's back, hurling Marin backward into a building, shattering the wall. Marin pushed himself up and glared at Sado, appearing in front of him, only for Sado to lean out of the way of the punch, drilling his own into Marin's face, launching him backward. As Marin shot toward the stairs up from the dock, a woman stepped up to them, catching him and dropping him onto the ground. She had shoulder-length, mint-green hair, a pair of cross-shaped, purple objects sticking out of the sides of her head where horns might be, a brown bikini with small gold spots and a gold border on the top of both pieces, the top just barely restraining her rather large breasts, a collar with a pair of chains extending from the front around under each arm inside of her long, open, gold robe that had purple six-point star designs over it, purple fur lining the top and bottom, and wore black sandals. She had the Alvarez Empire symbol in purple on her right thigh, and her Magic Energy was borderline oppressive.

"You're pathetic, Marin," the woman said. "Or, perhaps, that man is simply very impressive."

"I simply know how to predict his next move," Sado said. "Teleporters generally all fight the same."

The woman nodded.

"Lady Brandish," Marin said, stepping out of her way. "You're as beautiful as ever."

"Stop that," Brandish said. "You disgust me. So, you're a devil, aren't you?"

"How did you know that?" Sado asked.

"I've dealt with your kind before," Brandish said. "Although, you seem more...tame than those I've dealt with before. You're also rather handsome."

"Thank you," Sado said, struggling to decide if he should prepare to fight or retreat.

"I want some star mango gelato," Brandish said after several seconds of silence, only to stop when she saw the shop was in ruins. "What happened to the shop?"

"They blasted is," Marin said instantly, pointing at them.

"No way, that was you!" Gray and Natsu both shouted.

Brandish sighed heavily. "I'm going home."

"Wha...wait, Lady Brandish!" Marin said. "These guys picked a fight with our soldiers out of nowhere! And there might be more of them out there meeting with the spies!"

"I'm not interested," Brandish said. "Marin, give them back the girls you've 'passed.'"

"But they were going to be part of my collection!" Marin complained. "And you said I could do whatever I wanted Lady Brandish!"

Brandish stopped, her foot sending out shockwaves as it hit the ground, shaking the island. Sado crouched, gritting his teeth and preparing himself, however, all Brandish did was stand there, the sheer force of her Magic Energy causing an earthquake. Then, suddenly, it stopped. Brandish turned, looking back at Marin with a cold stare.

"Don't make me repeat myself."

"Yes!" Marin said hurriedly, saluting.

Then, Erza and Lucy crashed to the ground, groaning.

"Lucy, Erza, are you okay?" Natsu asked.

"My relaxation space isn't dangerous, so there's nothing to worry about," Marin smiled.

"What was that creepy room?" Lucy groaned.

"We're back," Erza sighed. "Finally. And there's another person..."

She stared at Brandish in shock, Lucy doing the same. Sado stood slowly.

"Lady Brandish, our mission is to capture the spy and their acquaintances that have gone to look for him," Marin said nervously. "And we can't go back empty handed or else Master Wall will..."

"Ishgar wouldn't dare come at Alvarez, even if we _did_ let them go," Brandish said.

"That's true but, wouldn't it be terrible to tell them we couldn't find any?" Marin asked. "We'd be failures."

"Such things don't concern me," Brandish smiled. She began to walk again but Natsu stepped forward.

"Stop!" Natsu shouted. "If you think I'm going to just let you walk away after what you did to our friend, you've got another thing coming."

Brandish turned to look back at Natsu for a moment before waving a hand at Marin, who burst into a spray of goo, fading before it even hit the ground. Everyone gasped, Sado staring at the spot Marin had been in silence.

"And now we're one person down too," Brandish said. "Does that make us even? Sorry, but troublesome matters annoy me."

"Why you..." Natsu growled.

"Like I said, it was starting to get troublesome," Brandish said. "I'll let them know I've taken care of the spy, etcetera. So in return, don't come any closer to Alakitasia. Makarov is alive, but if you guys keep doing unnecessary things, who knows what'll happen. This is a warning. Don't come any closer."

Suddenly, the island was gone from beneath them. Sado's wings formed instantly, catching him as the others fell in. However, when Sado looked around, he saw that the island wasn't gone. It had shrunk. Brandish was standing on what was left.

"There are twelve more wizards in Alvarez as powerful as me," Brandish said. "Don't start a war you can't win, Fairy Tail."

"Wait," Sado said as Brandish was about to leave, making her pause. "Who exactly are you?"

"Brandish µ, one of the Spriggan Twelve, the personal guards of his majesty, Emperor Spriggan," Brandish said, then disappeared.

Sado sighed, floating down to hover above the water before the others, staring at the tiny island.

"What do we do now?" Erza asked.

"Get everyone onto a ship," Sado said, gesturing to a group of fishing ships where the island's dock used to be.

They all nodded and began to work to get everyone to a ship. As they did, Sado stared after the Alvarez Empire ships, which were sailing away. If the Spriggan Twelve were all as strong as Brandish or stronger, they'd all end up being as strong as the Ten Wizard Saints. Sado sighed. They were in for a very painful fight.

* * *

Leave a review.


	115. Chapter 115

I do not own any of the original Fairy Tail characters.

* * *

Reunion

Sado looked around at the inside of the underwater temple they'd found themselves in. As soon as everyone had been brought onto a ship, Mest had teleported everyone from Fairy Tail off of the ship to an underwater temple. The open windows had no barrier but still kept the water out, everything was completely dry, and Sado could sense familiar magic energy bouncing around through the inside of the temple thickly, though he was still too disoriented from the surprise teleportation to focus on it.

"Does anyone know where the hell we are?" Sado asked.

Suddenly, the temple began to tremble, beginning to move. Almost instantly, Natsu and Wendy were sick again. Sado walked to a window, looking out of it, seeing pieces of stone from the temple beginning to fall away, a massive white wing unfurling from the side of whatever they were in, the massive vehicle beginning to pick up speed through the water.

"Welcome aboard!" a voice Sado instantly placed suddenly said through an intercom.

"Someone's here!" Gray warned, everyone else tensing as Sado began to laugh.

"Thank you for choosing the mobile temple Olympia as your method of transportation," Sorano's voice continued as a light off to the side turned on, revealing Sorano in a white, angel-themed swimsuit, a lazy salute held to her head. "This is your captain, Sorano. Please keep all arms and legs inside the vehicle at all times."

"Sorano!" Sado cheered. "What are you doing here?"

"Why's she in a swimsuit?" Gray asked, suddenly nude.

"Well we're underwater," Carla said. "And put your clothes back on!"

Gray looked down and shouted in surprise, grabbing his clothes from the pile beside himself and starting to get dressed again.

"Why didn't you choose Cobra?" Erza asked Mest.

"He would have asked too many questions," Mest shrugged.

"So, you got your cover blown, huh Sorano?" Sado grinned. "I guess you took a bit of Fairy Tail with you, huh?"

Sorano smirked. "Looks like it."

"Wait a minute, how is she the spy if she was at the party a couple weeks ago? And then at the Avatar incident before that?" Lucy asked.

"Funny you should ask," Sorano smiled. "After that party I swapped out with one of the others. They were starting to draw attention, so they had to tag out. It bought us a little time, but not much. Just enough for you guys to get here, it seems."

"Seems like it," Sado nodded. "So, where we headed?"

"We're going to where Makarov is," Sorano smiled.

"You know where Makarov is?" Erza gaped, Sorano smiling at them all knowingly.

"Sure do," Sorano smiled.

"So you knew the whole time that it wasn't Makarov that was visiting," Sado said. "And when I told you it was, you chose to say nothing. Smart."

Sorano smiled and sat back in her throne, crossing one leg over the other. Sado leaned against the wall beside a window and stared out into it, watching the ocean pass, since it was obviously going to take some time.

* * *

Sado stepped onto land and stopped. They had barely been a day traveling through the water, and now they had reached the edge of Alvarez, near the capital. However, the reason Sado stopped, was the deformed skeleton made out of what looked like diamond lying on the ground before them. He walked forward, kneeling as the others stepped out of the water.

"What is that?" Natsu asked.

"It's a devil," Sado said. "It's been dead for a while, though. Alright buddy. Let's see what you've got to tell me."

He placed his hands on either side of the skull and images filled his mind rapidly. Within seconds he could see the entire history of Alakitasia, and of the Alvarez empire. He could see how the guilds formed, the wars, and the guilds joining together under the banner of Emperor Spriggan. Then, he saw the true identity of Emperor Spriggan. Zeref. The last images he could see were of twelve people who served directly under Zeref, the devil's memories identifying them as the Spriggan Twelve. Except, that he recognized a couple of them. Brandish, for one. But also a man with orange hair in a metal ring on top of his head then reaching back and falling in a pair of thick, messy tails like gigantic rabbit ears, a scar across his cheeks and the bridge of his nose, a sleeveless cloak with black on the outer layer that covered the shoulders and upper chest, white on the second layer that fell to just below his knees and was open below his white belt, red sleeves on a shirt underneath the cloak, and black pants and boots. Finally, Sado saw an image of Makarov on a balcony on the castle in the center of the capital, then an image of the man with the orange hair chasing him, eleven black blades with glowing red edges now behind him, though when the devil got behind the man, he saw the blades were all connected to a small ring by large shafts, making it look like a sort of unique chakram instead. Then, the man had gotten tired of playing with the devil and killed him in a single blow.

Sado released the devil, staggering backward several feet, eyes wide.

"What?" Natsu asked.

"We're so fucked," Sado breathed. "What I saw...he...God Serena has joined Alvarez as one of the Spriggan Twelve, and he's not even the strongest."

"What!?" Erza gaped. "You're certain it was him?"

"Positive," Sado nodded.

"Who's God Serena?" Lucy asked.

"The first ranked Wizard Saint," Sado said. "The strongest of the Gods of Ishgar."

"Our strongest wizard not only joined our enemies, but he's weaker than theirs?" Gray gaped.

"That's not the worst news," Sado said. "Emperor Spriggan, the leader of the Alvarez Empire...it's Zeref."

Everyone stared at him as that sunk in. Finally Erza shook her head.

"We have to get to Master Makarov," Erza said.

"Right," Sado nodded. "He's this way. The devil saw him before God Serena killed him."

They all followed him, quickly coming to a forest and passing through it until they reached a hill with a clearing, allowing them to see the capital and the castle where Makarov was being held. Sado focused and found that he could sense Makarov from where they were, along with Zeref. Suddenly, he sensed Zeref's energy spike, Makarov's beginning to drop.

"There!" he shouted, pointing at the balcony. "Zeref's attacking Makarov!"

Mest was gone in an instant, teleporting successively several times before reaching the balcony, grabbing Makarov and returning the same way. Just as he landed, Sado grabbed him and Makarov and leapt away from the capital, slamming into the others and knocking them back just as a wave of sand shot over them, slicing through the trees behind them, more sand forming into a man with long, messy, brown hair that stuck up seemingly at random, a yellow headband with an eye-like design on the center of his forehead, a length of yellow cloth tied around his neck and diagonally down under both arms with the ends hanging behind him nearly to the ground, a yellow cloth around each bicep, gold bracers, brown pants with a ring of alternating circles and upright rhombus designs on each leg, the pant legs ending high on his shins with a thick elastic cuff, an off-white cloth the same color as the one around his neck hanging around his waist, and yellow sandals.

"Ajeel!" Makarov growled.

"You dodged that nicely," Ajeel grinned.

"Thanks," Sado growled. "Everyone get back to the ship! Now!"

"But-" Natsu began but Sado growled, his devil traits flaring to life instantly.

"That's an order Natsu!" Sado snapped.

"Let's go!" Lucy said.

They all turned to run, Erza carrying Makarov, and Sado shot forward, punching at Ajeel, only for him to step out of the way, throwing his own. As he did, Sado flipped, roaring and sending white-hot flames exploding over his entire body, roasting him into glass. Sado flipped, launching himself away from Ajeel just as the glass shattered, sand reforming Ajeel, who grinned wickedly. Then, he leapt into the air, sand surrounding him before blades of sandstone began to shoot out of the sand twister that had formed, Sado dodging around them rapidly. As he landed, Ajeel fell at him with a pair of double-bladed war axes made of sand. Sado slammed his hands together before forming a pure white Fire Make Sword, blocking the axes before shoving them upward and again blasting Ajeel with a blast of sand. However, just as he did, the ground below them began to rise rapidly. Sado spun, streaking away, after the others. He caught up within seconds, landing on the roof of the magic vehicle they were using.

"Faster Erza!" Sado shouted.

Erza struggled to push it faster and the vehicle complied. However, as fast as they were going, the massive sandstone behemoth of a humanoid creature behind them was still catching up. Sado hurled his sword, the sword stabbing into the creature and exploding, knocking it back a step as Lucy and Gray climbed up onto the top of the vehicle with him.

"Stop, he's not someone you can defeat!" Makarov shouted.

"We won't know unless we try!" Lucy said.

"We just need to last long enough to escape!" Sado growled, placing his hands together, Gray doing the same as his Devil Slayer Markings spread over his body.

"Star Dress, Sagittarius Form!" Lucy shouted, light enveloping her before fading, leaving her in a sort of archer's outfit, complete with a bow and an arrow.

The outfit was green with a high collar, a cutout section to expose her cleavage, and the bottom being at her waist with two pieces sticking out on the sides, leaving her white panties exposed, or maybe it was a part of the dress. It also included two green detached sleeves, and green thigh-high stockings.

"Do you own anything that isn't inappropriate?" Sado smirked. "Or are you just trying to teach Natsu where babies come from?"

Lucy blushed furiously. "I don't choose the dress's appearance!"

"Here he comes," Gray said, preparing a spell. "Ice Make Silver!"

He swung a hand and everything behind them for a huge distance was suddenly encased in ice, including the behemoth.

"Nice!" Sado grinned.

"Well played," Ajeel grinned, leaping off of it and swiping a hand.

Instantly, sand began to spin together into the air forming into sand wyverns. Lucy raised her bow, a half dozen arrows held ready.

"Starshot!" Lucy said, releasing the arrows, which shot out and hit several sand wyverns, all of the arrows exploding and blasting even more.

However, still more appeared out of the smoke so Sado swung his own hand outward.

"Fire Make Air Defense!" Sado said, pure white fireballs forming around their vehicle and shooting up into the sky, exploding around the same altitude of the sand wyverns, quickly blasting them into oblivion. Then, suddenly, Ajeel transformed into sand and fell away.

"Shit, now what?" Gray asked.

"Below you!" Makarov shouted. "He's hiding in the sand!"

"Antlion Larva Pit!" Ajeel's voice shouted, the ground below the magic vehicle suddenly dropping into a sinkhole, Lucy falling off of the magic vehicle instantly, the others barely clinging on.

Sado was off instantly, grabbing Lucy before ramming into the magic vehicle, throwing it out of the pit where it crashed, everyone scrambling out, then throwing Lucy to Gray before turning and exhaling a jet of pure white flames into the pit, solidifying the sides into glass. Then, as Ajeel began to reform, Sado shot forward, flames exploding out of his entire back, driving his flaming fist into Ajeel's jaw and hurling him away. However, he flipped, landing on his feet and grinning from ear to ear.

"Not bad at all," Ajeel grinned. "It's been a long time since I've felt a punch this good. Come on, hit me with everything you've got."

Sand began to explode off of him, flooding across the ground.

"Freeze!" Gray shouted, stepping forward and sending ice blasting across the ground at Ajeel, Sado landing beside Gray.

"And dry up," Ajeel smirked, the ice evaporating almost instantly.

Then, the sand shot up at them from below. Just as it did, Makarov's fist expanded, stretching out and swinging at Ajeel, missing him by inches, before Makarov expanded his body, scooping up all of them and holding them protectively.

"I won't allow you to lay a hand on my children!" Makarov shouted.

Ajeel laughed. "Did you think you could protect them like that? It seems you don't understand the power of the Spriggan Twelve!"

A deep rumbling began to reach their ears and Makarov turned, Sado forcing himself out of Makarov's arms and flying into the air, staring at the twenty foot tall tsunami of sand racing toward them.

"Let the Sands of Death Swallow you whole!" Ajeel shouted.

Sado's fists clenched and he grit his teeth shoving with all his might. Then, he roared, the sound deafening as a jet of flames all but exploded out of his mouth and hands exploding into the tsunami and sending flames exploding outward across them, completely obliterating them, the heat of the flames so extreme that Makarov was forced to retreat from them a huge distance, even with Gray instinctively using his Devil Slayer charged Ice Magic to keep them all protected. All around Sado, any plants or wood, or anything else flammable, to include Ajeel's clothes, erupted into flames from the sheer heat of Sado's flames. Then, finally, Sado let it end and began to gasp for breath, staring at the sea of glass he had created for miles. He turned toward Ajeel, who had used sand to put the flames on his clothes out, just in time for a lightning bolt to explode into him, hurling him away. Sado looked up at a ship above them and grinned. It was Christina.

"Laxus!" Sado cheered.

"I sensed you needed some help through the old Devil's Claw crest, Sado," Laxus said through the ship's speakers.

"Alright, time to retreat!" Gajeel's voice said.

"We're still on enemy ground," Panther Lily added.

"Get on the ship!" Levy said.

"U-Uh...it's my ship," Ichiya's voice said nervously.

"Gajeel?" Happy asked. "Levy and Lily too?"

"That's a ship isn't it?" Natsu asked. "How are Gajeel and Laxus able to ride on it?"

"My darling Gray, are you alright?" Juvia asked worriedly.

"Let me talk too!" Elfman's voice said.

"Big Brother Elf, stop it!" Lisanna's voice said.

Sado chuckled.

This ship's custom-made to carry Dragon Slayers too," Laxus said.

"Have you grown a little Wendy?" Bixlow's voice asked.

"The little girl is now a woman, huh?" Freed's said.

"Everyone's grown a little this past year," Evergreen said.

"Mest, you're there aren't you?" Cana asked. "Get everyone onboard, now!"

"On our way!" Mest said, teleporting Makarov and the others, Sado flying up at it himself.

"You're not going anywhere!" Ajeel shouted, sand flying up at them.

Sado flipped, roaring as loud as before, flames matching those he had stopped the tsunami with exploding out of his mouth, launching him up at the ship rapidly at the same time as filling the world below him with a blindingly bright explosion. He let it end and flipped, landing on the deck of the ship as his Devil Traits faded, then walked to the railing, staring downward at the gigantic mushroom-shaped cloud left behind. He hated scorching the world to that extreme, but he needed to keep Ajeel on the defense long enough for them to escape. After several seconds of nothing happening with both he and Laxus watching, he sighed, turning to the rest of the ship's deck, smiling and nodding to Laxus, who grinned knowingly.

"You've gotten stronger," Laxus said.

"No," Sado said. "But desperation, fear, and anger allowed me to get better control in a snap."

"How hot was that, anyway?" Laxus asked.

"Hot," Sado snorted. "Too hot to use around friends again."

Laxus nodded. Sado sighed, looking to the others where Juvia was enjoying Gray holding her, and the others were still digging themselves out of the pile they had landed in.

"Your team's late Gajeel," Sado said. "You almost missed the party."

"Looks like you had it handled," Gajeel said. "I didn't realize you finally managed to step it up since Tartaros."

"That was the first time," Sado said.

"This ship is the greatest!" Natsu grinned. "I'm not even sick! Oh hey Laxus, let's fight!"

"Shut up," Laxus said.

"Everyone..." Makarov said, staring at them, tears in his eyes. "You're the best family anyone could ever ask for. Fairy Tail is back."

Everyone cheered and Sado smiled.

"You want the place as Guild Master back?" Sado asked.

"You're the new Guild Master?" Makarov asked before smiling. "I think you'll be an excellent seventh. And if you need help, I'll be there to help."

"Well, we've now officially declared war on Alvarez, plus I just turned about five miles or so into glass, so I think I'll need your help, yeah," Sado smiled.

Makarov nodded gravely. "Yes. There's no escaping the inevitability of this war. Zeref means to exterminate Ishgar."

"He might be able to," Sado said. "He's cursed by Ankhseram. Can he even _be_ killed?"

"Maybe not," Makarov sighed. "But we'll deal with that later. For now, me have to hurry home."

Sado nodded, leaning against the railing. He tossed a portable communications lacrima into the air and it expanded, forming an image of Sorano. "We got a ride. Make yourself scarce. We beat the hornet's nest like a piñata."

Sorano nodded and Sado ended the call, catching the lacrima and slipping it into his pocket.

"I need to figure out where to have Mira hide during the war," Sado sighed.

"You're out of your mind if you think she's going to let you fight a war without her, kid or no kid," Laxus said. "Congratulations, by the way. Boy or girl?"

"Girl," Sado smiled. "Hope."

"Hope?" Makarov blinked. "Wasn't that the name of..."

"The young girl Devil Slayer I had to kill," Sado said. "Yes. That's half the reason we named her that. But it was also because our daughter is all of me and Mira's hopes of a normal life. For a long time I couldn't have a child without it being a devil. I had almost given up hope that there was a way. But then Porlyusica told me that I could have a normal child. Hope was just the only name that fit."

"Fair enough," Laxus nodded. "It'll be a bit of a long flight back. We should head inside where we'll be more comfortable."

"I'll stay out here," Sado said. "I don't trust them to let us go so easily."

"Fair enough," Laxus nodded. "Signal if you need us."

Sado nodded and everyone else headed below deck, Sado sitting at the back of the ship, staring back toward Alvarez.

* * *

Leave a review.


	116. Chapter 116

I do not own any of the original Fairy Tail characters.

* * *

My Sins

Sado smiled, watching as Makarov held Hope, smiling down at her lovingly. Mira was seated in Sado's lap, also smiling, and all around the guid hall, Fairy Tail, plus all of Fairy Tail's former members, were celebrating Makarov's return. Of course, celebrating mean a bunch of individual arguments for the guild, so it was as noisy and entertaining as ever. After a while, Makarov finally handed Hope to Mira and walked to the map on one side of the room, slamming his staff down once, gettin everyone's attention.

"Everyone, I won't make any more excuses," Makarov said. "I'm the one that forced all of you to lose your home. I'm deeply sorry."

Everyone began to assure him that it was fine and they weren't angry. Finally, he raised a hand, silencing them.

"As it is, my mission was a failure," Makarov said. "Alvarez, a huge, powerful country, is moving on this guild."

He slid a miniature castle across the water of the map to Magnolia just as Natsu began to shout.

"So what?" Natsu demanded. "We've fought for this guild many, _many_ times. No matter how powerful the enemy is, the wish to protect the ones important to us has always made us strong. It's not that I'm not scared. It's like a package you don't know how to put down." He set his flaming hand down, igniting the map, which began to burn away instantly, without Natsu realizing it. "But...everyone will definitely help us. The real fear is the thought that these happy days might not continue. To be able to laugh together once again, we have to fight. Our goal is victory! We're gonna fight to live! That's our battle!"

Everyone smiled confidently, except for Sado. He had seen wars. He had been the opposite side of wars. He had been the _losing_ side of wars. He knew the truth. _All_ wars had casualties. And nothing was _ever_ the same after.

"Looks like everyone's ready," Laxus said.

"So am I," Makarov growled. "They will regret challenging our family! We will strike them back!"

"I'm all fired up!" Natsu grinned, a short tongue of flame reaching out of his mouth. "We'll win no matter what!"

"Of course," Gajeel grinned.

"It's a fight we can't lose," Erza smiled.

 _Can't afford to lose, you mean,_ Sado thought.

"The enemy is Zeref," Juvia said.

"We can do it," Lucy said.

"This time, I'll definitely protect the guild," Elfman said.

Sado sighed, holding Mira a little tighter as she reached her free hand back and curled it into his hair.

"I'm not letting you fight without me," Mira said.

"I know," Sado said. "What about Hope?"

"We'll figure something out," Mira said.

Sado nodded as Makarov slammed his staff down again.

"There's one more thing I must tell you all about before it begins," Makarov said. "By now, you've all heard of the Lumen Histoire, Fairy Tail's greatest treasure. It's true name is Fairy Heart."

"Allow me to explain that, sixth," Mavis said, suddenly beside him.

"First!?" Makarov gasped.

"Everyone, Fairy Heart has been Fairy Tail's most protected secret up until now," Mavis said. "That's because it has a secret that the world must not know. However, you also have to know the reason why Zeref wants that power...and my sin."

"Sin?" Erza asked.

"First..." Makarov said.

"It's okay," Mavis said. "It's time to reveal the truth. This is the story of a cursed boy and a cursed girl, and the single magic they were pursuing. It's a story from a hundred years ago, just before Fairy Tail was formed. It was in Magnolia's West Forest. That was where we met for the first time, completely by chance. He was suffering from the Curse of Ankhseram. A curse that toyed at the fates of others by robbing them of their lives. But I was intrigued by him. He taught me most of my magic. At that time, Magnolia had been under the control of a Dark Guild. And we had to learn magic as fast as we could in order to free Magnolia from them. That was when it happened, in the midst of a battle. I used a black magic spell that was still incomplete, but in doing so, we won the fight. However, the price I had to pay for that action was a body that ceased to age. I didn't think much of it back then."

Sado felt a pang of sympathy. He knew how bad it would be to not be able to age and yet have friends and loved ones.

"April, year X six hundred eighty six, Fairy Tail is formed," Mavis said. "It was a time when the lords were in a feud over their trading rights. The second trade war was just about to begin. Guild wizards were roped into the war as soldiers for the Lords. During that time, I worked as a tactician, both for the Lord's forces, and also for Fairy Tail. And I was good at it. I won every battle Fairy Tail never lost a single person in battle. In the year X six hundred ninety, the second trade war ended. The number of wounded and dead was ten times higher than the previous war. It was said that the reason for this was the wizard guilds' interventions. That was when the world of magic decided that guilds could no longer wage war, or be a part of any war, by drafting a treaty. With it, a short era of peace dawned upon the world of magic. Six years later, in the year X six hundred ninety six, I met him again by pure coincidence. That was when we first realized that I was immune to his curse. Eventually, he brought up the fact that I hadn't changed in ten years, and I explained that it was the price for having used the incomplete Black Magic spell, Law."

Sado blinked, staring at her. Was she talking about Fairy Law?

"He was surprised and angry that I had done it," Mavis continued. "He told me that it wasn't that I had stopped aging. I had become immortal. Like he was. He explained the curse, that the more I valued life, the more the curse would end the lives around me. It told him he was wrong. Nothing like that had happened. But he theorized that the reason for it not happening was the war. War changes the way you see life. He theorized that that was the reason I had never noticed the curse taking life, or that it hadn't been. He said I didn't know the true meaning of taking a life. And that the day I found out what it was, that would be the day that the people around me would start to disappear. Later that year, my friend Yuri Dreyer gave birth to a son. She had even insisted on doing it at the guild, because she wanted him to grow up in the guild. And she had me name him. So, I thought of a name based on books I once read. One was about a prince named Makarov. He was kind and strong, so that was the name I chose.

"But...then it happened. When I had seen Makarov for the first time, life had truly become precious to me. I took Rita's hand, a harmless gesture of friendship, but as soon as I did, Rita died. No one realized I was the cause. They thought she had simply died because of child birth. But I knew. And I ran. I ran as far from the guid, and as far from Magnolia as a sobbing, hysterical immortal with a child's body could. I think I made it to the forest outside the city before I tripped. As I was beginning to stand, I noticed that the forest around me was beginning to die as well. The flowers. The trees. Everything. The Curse of Ankhseram is known as the Contradictory Curse. The more you love life, the more life it will steal from those around you. But if you stop loving life, it will stop taking it. I'd taken the lives of trees, animals, and now people as well. From that point onward, I stopped showing up at the guild. Aimlessly wandering around. And unwillingly stole more lives from those around me as I did. A year went by in this way. Finally, Zeref found me. He had been looking for me. All I wanted was to die. But I couldn't. Because of the Curse of Ankhseram, I couldn't die even if someone beheaded me. Even Zeref could kill me, with his curse or his magic. I asked. But he said, he had once been like me, but he had learned to look at things differently.

"We now had an infinite amount of time. He had created the Etherious. Artificial demons with enough power to be possibly capable of killing him. But whether they could or not, he said he was also making himself a country. It was on a different continent, but he was working on expanding it. He said he was the emperor, and he had made everyone there into pawns, pieces in a game. That was why the curse no longer affected him. Because he had learned to not care about human life. And yet, he did. He said he was preparing for war, but that he hated war. It was disgusting. I asked him why, then, he had called it enjoyable to create and expand his country, but he hadn't realized he had. His thoughts had become contradictions as well, you see. He lived to die. He wanted to save his brother, and yet he wanted to destroy him. He wanted to destroy, and yet he wanted to be destroyed. He was losing his mind to the contradictions. So I said we could work together to find a way to break the curse. And he agreed. And then, he kissed me."

Sado raised an eyebrow, several of the others having similar reactions, others confused.

"Everything begins in this deep abyss of magic," Mavis said. "A magic that unites it all, love. Love can cause miracles. And Love can cause sadness. And the love between the two that had been living with the curse, had brought upon the highest level of contradiction. The more one loves, the more one will take away from another. The curse had taken life from me, even when I was supposed to be immortal. Zeref carried me back to my guild. He found Precht, the acting guild master, and quite literally dropped me at his feet. Precht asked him who he was, and Zeref told him. Then, Zeref said that if I was a fairy, that would make him a Spriggan. Then, he left. Precht wished to save me from death. There was a lacrima below the guild hall that might have the power to save me. And, in a way, it did. My body was trapped inside of the crystal, as it remains today, but my soul is now capable of moving about and interacting with anyone bearing the Fairy Tail emblem. Precht tried as many resurrection spells as he could find, but none worked. It wasn't long before Precht realized I bore the Curse of Ankhseram. Ultimately, he was forced to keep it a secret. He couldn't tell the others that the true reason behind Rita's death was me.

"In the year X six hundred ninety seven, Precht made the announcement that I had died, and that my grave was on the guild's holy ground, Tenrou Island. Tenrou Island was where I was born, and also where I first met Precht. That same year, Precht officially became the second guild master. That was supposedly done according to my will before I departed. Precht balanced his job as guild master with trying all sorts of ways to bring me back. In the year X seven hundred, Makarov's father passed away, never having known the truth of his wife's death. For the next thirty years, Precht never stopped trying to revive me. Everything became unpredictable. Precht was a genius, and yet even with his unrivaled knowledge and skill, I was still stuck with the curse. As I said before, I had become placed in a sort of suspended animation. Alive, yet dead. But that combination gave birth to a new indescribably magic. Eternity Magic, Fairy Heart."

"Eternity Magic?" Lucy asked.

"What is that?" Erza asked.

"Just as the name suggests, a limitless magic, one that will never run out," Mavis said.

"The hell!?" Natsu gaped.

"An everlasting fountain of magic!?" Happy shouted.

"For example," Mavis said. "There was once a weapon known as Etherion that the old Magic Council had. One attack from that weapon could wipe out an entire country. With the Fairy Heart, you could fire the Etherion repeatedly without worrying about the magic. Or, should I say, it has enough magic to enable that, but it's hard to describe how much it has. It is infinite, after all."

"Yeah, Zeref is definitely not getting his hands on Fairy Heart," Sado said.

"My son Ivan once wanted it as well," Makarov said. "I'm not sure how it got out, but now Alvarez is after it as well."

"But for what?" Mira asked. "They should have enough power already."

"It's Acnologia," Sado said. "They want to take down Acnologia, but they don't have the power to do it."

"That's my guess," Mavis nodded. "He's been getting on Zeref's nerves this whole time."

"But if we look at it from another angle, we'd need that much power to defeat it?" Cana asked.

"No way," Levy said.

"Hey, I have a really simple question," Happy said. "If it's that powerful, couldn't we easily beat both Alvarez and Acnologia?"

"He has a point," Makarov said. "I once thought about it when we had to deal with the Faces. But even if we had won that round, we have no idea what would happen next. What would we do if we could no longer control an Etherion that has an infinite power source?"

"I'm sorry," Happy sighed.

"You can't just fight fire with fire here," Panther Lily said.

"Fire, we're talking about the First's body here," Carla said.

Several others around the room began to agree that Fairy Heart could never be introduced to the world. Sado watched Mavis in silence. He himself was conflicted. If Natsu was given Fairy Heart, he could probably kill Acnologia. However, that would technically be deciding who would live and who would die. Doing so would likely incur the wrath of Ankhseram. And yet, that much power was tempting in ways that he would never admit.

"Magic born of my sins," Mavis said. "I never thought it would drag all of you into this mess."

"It's not a sin to fall in love," Gajeel said. "You did nothing wrong."

Several of the men off to one side stared at him and he shouted for them to mind their own business. To his other side, Sado caught Levy staring at him with a mixture of emotions in her eyes, though her face was mostly blank.

"Master Mavis, please don't blame yourself so much," Erza said.

"Yes, it's an unhappy coincidence that all of these bad things keep happening to you," Mira said.

"If you weren't here, we wouldn't have Fairy Tail at all," Lucy said.

"Which means we never would have met you," Cana said.

"You being here is what connected us all, First," Gray smiled.

"We want to protect the guild you built, so we'll fight," Wendy said.

"It's become a fine guild, First Master," Makarov said.

Gray glanced at Juvia, seeing her crying. "What's up with you?"

"Master Mavis has to fight the person she once loved," Juvia said.

"That was a long time ago," Mavis said. "Zeref has become a threat to mankind. We have to defeat him."

"But, even if we _did_ do something about the Alvarez soldiers..." Bickslow began.

"Zeref's immortal, isn't he?" Freed finished.

"So he can't be killed then!" Evergreen said.

"No," Sado said. "But we _can_ put him in a state of death."

"How do we do that?" Erza asked.

"Leave that to me!" Natsu grinned, jumping up on a table. "I'll take Zeref down! I've been developing this technique in secret!" He held a hand to his bandaged arm.

"While I agree that you'll be the one to fight him, Natsu, you're not going to be able to put him in a state of death," Sado said.

"Well what then?" Natsu asked.

"We need to put him in suspended animation," Sado said. "Like Mavis."

Everyone stared at him before Natsu laughed.

"Nah, I got him with my secret plan," Natsu said.

And just like that, everyone was clamoring to know what it was. Sado sighed, kissing Mira before walking over to the two former masters.

"Master Makarov, he needs to know," Sado said.

"Not yet," Makarov said. "The time isn't right, yet."

Sado sighed, then looked to Mavis. "Do you have a way to actually kill him?"

Mavis watched him for a moment before staring at the ground. "Maybe."

"I think I might," Sado said. "But it'll be...costly. And I have no right to ask it of you. I also have to ask a question first."

"What?" Mavis asked.

"You said that you died because Zeref loved you when you kissed, yet he didn't," Sado said. "Does that mean you didn't love him? Or that you were denying your feelings for him?"

Mavis stared at the ground. "You're very smart, you know? I know you're older than even me and Zeref, but still. You're right. About the plan to kill Zeref, too. That probably _is_ the only way."

"I see," Sado nodded. "Would it be possible if something like Fairy Law was used?"

"No," Mavis said. "Besides, we already told you that using any of those spells would kill you."

"Not if I adapted them to work for me specifically," Sado said. "Besides, my soul is completely human now."

"I suppose if you adapted them it _could_ be possible to use them," Mavis said. "But you still couldn't kill Zeref with them."

"I was more thinking about a certain dragon," Sado said. "And maybe not kill, but hopefully cripple."

Mavis watched him in silence before smiling. "Maybe. We'll have to find out."

Sado smiled, nodding, and returned to Mira, taking Hope for a little while.

* * *

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	117. Chapter 117

I do not own any of the original Fairy Tail characters.

* * *

Enemies

Sado sipped at his alcohol before sighing, all eyes on him. "Right. So like I said, all of my information on the Spriggan Twelve comes from a devil's corpse. The ability isn't exactly a perfect science, but it's got its uses. Like reconnaissance. I know their names, faces, and a very general description of their powers. Nothing exact."

"Well?" Gray asked as Sado took another drink, Mira glancing at him worriedly. "Don't leave us in suspense."

"Okay," Sado said. "First, there's Invel Yura, the Winter General. Ice Magic. Probably stronger than Ur's."

"Invel is Zeref's closest aid and consul," Makarov said.

"Next is the Desert King, Ajeel Ramal, the freak with the Sand Magic that attacked us on the way out," Sado said. "Brandish µ, the Country Demolisher, head of the Brandish Squad. She can control matter. For example, when we met her, she shrunk an island down smaller than a seagull."

"She dislikes fighting, but is unquestionably loyal to Zeref and will attack if he tells her to, which he will," Makarov said.

"The War Princess, Dimaria Yesta," Sado continued. "I honestly couldn't tell you her powers, because the devil didn't know. However, he _did_ know that she reeked of the power of a god. The devil was torn between thinking it was a Yakuma War God, probably Ares, or Chronos, the god of time. If it's Chronos, that means she controls time."

"That's a horrifying thought," Gray said.

"Indeed," Sado nodded. "And we're in short supply of God Slayers. Anyway, the next one is God Serena, the former top of the Ten Wizard Saints list. I talked with Mest, who talked to Warrod, and apparently God Serena has _eight different Dragon Slayer Lacrimas_ inside of him, so...yeah. That should be fun." He sighed, reaching for the liquor bottle again but Mira took it, setting it out of reach. He sighed, nodding. "Sorry. Next is Jacob Lessio. He uses Stealth and Transport. Stealth allows him to be completely invisible, wield invisible weapons, and see anything that should otherwise be invisible. It's known as Assassination Magic, and for excellent reason. Transport allows him to transport people or objects into an alternate dimension. The range depends on the person. Expect his to be monstrous."

"Sounds like he's the weakest," Lucy said. "Compared to eight Dragon Slayer Lacrima, or the powers of a God, his seem pretty tame."

"He's a Spriggan Twelve," Sado said. "All of them are as strong or stronger than the Ten Wizard Saints, probably rom rank five and above. After him, there's Wall Eehto. He's a Machias, a race of living machines. He can use magic to form machines to suit his needs, anything from a wrist watch to an anti-magic cannon like Phantom Lord's Jupiter. Then there's Neinhart. He's got a magic called Historia of the Dead. He can basically revive the dead by seeing into their hearts and using major events of their pasts, like hard-fought battles, love, even respect, to recreate them. And I don't know if there's a limit to how many he can revive at one time."

"So we might have to fight Tartaros again?" Gray asked. "Or Hades?"

"Or Igneel," Sado said. "Literally anyone dead, so far as I know."

"That could spell trouble," Carla said.

"Just wait, it only gets better from here," Sado said. "Bloodman. An Etherious with the ability to control every single Curse used by the Nine Demon Gates of Tartaros and Mard Geer."

"Jesus," Gray breathed.

"How do we fight that?" Lucy asked.

"He's going to be a tough one," Mira said.

"Sounds like a monster," Gajeel said.

"Next up is Larcade," Sado said. "He was the most powerful of Zeref's imperfect Etherious, second only to E.N.D. He wished to be Zeref's son, but Zeref didn't recognize him as such. The devil I got the information from was something of an...acquaintance of Larcade's, allowing detailed information on him, since Larcade, for whatever reason, confided in him. He wields three spells, all equally...unique and devastating. First is Pleasure. It causes anyone who has had sex to feel intense levels of pleasure, to the point that after a prolonged exposure, the person affected by the spell will die. Second is a spell called Soul of the Wicked Meal, which causes its victims to feel physical hunger, bad enough that within a few minutes of being exposed, a group of victims would view each other as food and be unable to stop themselves from consuming each other. Lastly is a spell called R.I.P. It causes its victims to feel tired, and inevitably fall asleep. And the moment they do, they fall into a slumber they can never awaken from."

"So...Larcade kills using sex, hunger, and sleep?" Cana asked.

"Pretty much," Sado said.

"So basically only virgins are allowed to fight him," Laxus said. "Terrific."

"Who else?" Makarov asked.

"Irene Belserion," Sado said. "Queen of the Dragons. She's a Dragon Slayer who can transform between dragon and human like Acnologia. In fact, she's the one that created Dragon Slayer Magic. Her true power, however, is as an Enchantress. She's the strongest female member of the Spriggan Twelve, third over all behind Larcade and the last member."

"And that is?" Natsu asked.

"August," Sado said, voice much more grave than with the rest.

Everyone stared at him, then at Makarov who spoke up, his own voice and face matching Sado's.

"He's on a completely different level," Makarov said. "He's known as the Magic King."

"Magic King?" Gray asked.

"It's fitting," Sado said. "He's the leader of the Spriggan Twelve. He can use any time of magic, including ancient magics and lost magics. In terms of raw magical power, he most likely even exceeds Zeref himself. Additionally, he's an incredibly powerful physical fighter. And thanks to Larcade, I also know something that I'm...not sure I should say or not about him."

"What's that?" Mavis asked.

He hesitated before walking over and whispering to her. Instantly, her mouth dropped open before her face turned scarlet, then pale. Finally, she composed herself and nodded.

"You might as well," Mavis said. "It'll help them understand."

Sado nodded. "August is...Zeref and Mavis's son."

Everyone's mouth fell open and they stared between the two.

"He's every bit the strategist as Mavis, and even stronger than Zeref," Sado said.

The others all nodded slowly.

"Can we beat him?" Gray asked.

"We don't have a choice," Sado said.

Everyone remained silent for a long while, Sado sitting beside Mira again, slipping his hand into hers and staring at Hope. He wouldn't be able to do it. if he were in Mavis's place, he wouldn't be capable of fighting them.

"We're going to be okay," Mira smiled, squeezing his hand lightly.

"Okay," Sado smiled.

"So, which are you going to try to fight?" Mira asked. "Since we usually end up choosing opponents."

"It's a war," Sado said. "I'll fight whoever I meet. But, if I have to choose...August. Maybe Irene."

Mira nodded. "The more dangerous ones."

"Except Larcade, who I can't fight," Sado sighed.

Mira nodded. A few hours later, the order had gone out to evacuate Magnolia, as an impending battleground. So, Sado and the others went to help, as well as to rest up and prepare for the war.

* * *

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	118. Chapter 118

I do not own any of the original Fairy Tail characters.

* * *

First Strike

Sado squeezed Mira's hand gently as they walked down the road. Mira leaned her head on his shoulder and he smiled, resting his head against hers. A few months ago, he would have thought that he'd be preparing for a war by having sex with Mira one last time. Instead, he, Mira, Hope, Faith, and their three hellhounds were all walking the streets of the now empty Magnolia one last time. During the war, Porlyusica had promised to keep Hope safe, and Sado would be having his hellhounds help, along with Faith, but until then, he and Mira wanted to spend as much time as they could with her.

What do you think the others are doing?" Mira asked.

"Well, Gray's too smart to do anything that would exclude him from being able to fight Larcade, assuming he and Juvia haven't done that yet," Sado said. "Actually, given they lived together, they may have."

"No, Juvia said Gray wanted to wait for marriage," Mira said.

"Oh yeah," Sado said. "Then, yeah, Gray's too smart for that, so they're probably doing what we're doing, mostly. Lucy's too smart to make it so Natsu can't fight Larcade, and Natsu's too clueless to know what's going on anyway even if she tried. Gajeel and Levy, though."

"You think they are?" Mira asked.

"My guess is yes," Sado said. "Though, Gajeel's probably treating it like a booty call."

Mira giggled. "Probably. You think Sorano ever won over Ultear?"

"For Sorano's sake, I fucking hope so," Sado said. "And, of course, Ur, Lyon, and Shelia are undoubtedly going at it."

"True," Mira nodded. "Hey, you know? I just had a thought. I wonder if Loki and Aries are still together."

"That's an excellent question," Sado said. "I wonder where Aquarius' new key ended up."

"Also a good question," Mira nodded.

Suddenly, Sado stopped, a grin slowly spreading over his face.

"What?" Mira asked.

Sado turned to the building to the left, a hotel, and his grin widened.

"What?" Mira asked again.

"Listen," Sado grinned.

Mira's brow furrowed in confusion just as something thumped the wall, then again and again in a steady rhythm. Mira's face turned scarlet but just as she opened to ask why Sado was grinning about being able to hear a couple obviously having sex through the wall, a different voice echoed out from the building.

"Gajeel!" Levy's voice cried out.

Mira's face darkened but she clamped a hand over her mouth, Sado biting down on his tongue and extending his wings, scooping up Mira and flying a safe distance from the building before landing, both breaking down into fits of laughter. "Oh my god! I can't believe I had to hear that! I'm never going to be able to talk to Levy without thinking of that."

"Just wait until you hear her talking to him and she says his name," Sado laughed. "This is going to pop into your head instantly."

Mira laughed. "Did you find them on purpose?"

"Complete coincidence, I sear," Sado laughed. "I'm so making fun of him."

Mira laughed and Sado sighed, looking up at the sky, his smile dropping instantly. Mira looked up and gasped, eyes widening. Above them, about fifty flying ships, including a single massive flagship, were flying toward Magnolia, each bearing the crest of the Alvarez Empire.

"Go," Sado said, forming his Devil Traits. "Get to the guild hall."

Mira nodded, shifting to her She Devil form and taking off, the hellhounds forming wings and following her as Sado shot into the air, reaching the ships in moments and exploding up through one, before flipping and sending flames flooding over a second, lighting it up like the head of a match before he dove, exploding back down through a third. He rolled just as Mavis's voice, projected to him, and likely everyone else, through telepathy, warned about the ships.

The smaller ships looked like darts, they were round and fat, with a long needle on the front and a tail on the back. The flagship, on the other hand, was a flying three-mast clipper ship. Sado sent a jet of flames at it, but sand flooded off of it, blocking the flames before streaking at Sado. Sado took off, blasting through several more ships before flipping over a cloud of sand, roasting it into glass as it passed. Suddenly, all of the ships began to fire the cannons on their underbellies at Magnolia, only for a massive barrier to appear, blocking the blasts. Sado grinned. Freed worked well under pressure. He took off, continuing to demolish ships, the ships beginning to fire at him again as well, Sado avoiding the pure ethernano blasts. Then, three more ships exploded, Natsu, Gajeel, and Wendy joining him with their Exeeds carrying them. Sado grinned, blasting down through a ship before pulling up alongside Gajeel as they dodged and weaved through a hail of magic blasts.

"So Gajeel, you have fun prepping for the fight?" Sado grinned.

"What are you talking about?" Gajeel asked.

Sado flipped over a blast and formed a Fire Make Javelin, hurling it into the ship where it exploded, blasting that ship and sending debris into another, that one breaking apart as well.

"You and Levy," Sado grinned, Gajeel's eyes bugging out of his head instantly.

"I don't know what you're talking about!" Gajeel shouted, having Panther Lily take him at a ship, which he smashed his way through.

Sado laughed, blasting through three more ships before stopping as sand flew up at him from all sides. "Nice try!"

He roared, his flames blasting into the sand as he flipped and spun, the sand all around him being turned to glass and falling away. Then, finally, he flipped, stopping his flames just as a massive ethernano blast from the recently appropriated Jupiter Cannon shot through the air at the flagship, only for a massive wall of sand to explode into it, scattering the beam into dozens of smaller blasts that obliterated almost all of the remaining smaller ships. Sado rolled his eyes and flew down, landing on the deck of the ship in front of Ajeel, glaring at him as Gajeel landed beside him.

"Well well, you again," Ajeel grinned. "I actually thought I had you for a second there."

"I'm actually a little surprised that you're still alive," Sado said. "I could have sworn I roasted you."

"I have August to thank for that," Ajeel said.

"Of course," Sado sighed. "Gajeel, you may want to get clear. If I fight him for real, I'll be hot enough to melt you."

Then, as if on cue, Gajeel dropped, groaning. Sado rolled his eyes, kicking Gajeel off the ship.

"Panther Lily!" Sado shouted, the exeed catching his partner. Sado sighed, turning back to Ajeel, who grinned widely. "Now, where were we?"

Ajeel grinned even wider, crouching as Sado's Devil Traits bleached white. Ajeel shot forward, sand forming around his fist as he punched at Sado, Sado's fist meeting his before Sado flipped, kicking at him. Ajeel avoided it and Sado inhaled. Ajeel's smile dropped of of his face and he leapt off of the ship as sand shot up out of it, swallowing Sado. Then, a moment later, Sado's flames exploded out of it, igniting the entire ship from proximity, obliterating the sand, and blasting through the raised back of the ship, blasting through two more before exploding against a third, the heat of the blast igniting several others. Sado turned in the air, facing Ajeel who was suddenly on a massive sand dragon. Ajeel smirked, forming himself an axe and Sado narrowed his eyes.

"Well?" Ajeel asked. "Where's your sword?"

"Above you," Sado said.

Ajeel looked up, then hurled himself away as a second Sado, this one wielding a Fire Make Greatsword, crashed down on the dragon blade first, exploding and hurling Ajeel away. Ajeel flipped, sand forming a wyvern below him, only for Sado's fist to explode into Ajeel's face, sending him exploding through the sand wyvern and then into the ground. Sado landed at the beginning of the trench he had formed for a couple hundred meters and Ajeel pushed himself up from the other end, glaring at Sado.

"You're really not holding back this time," Ajeel growled.

"Last time, we were trying to escape," Sado said. "All we wanted was to rescue our master. This time, you're attacking our home. I _will not_ allow you to threaten my family."

Ajeel shot forward on a wave of flames, flipping into the air as Sado swung an arm, an explosion shooting outward from his hand and blasting the wave apart. Then, as Ajeel landed and spun, swinging a pair of axes at him, Sado turned, catching both blades in one hand, then squeezed, the blades shattering as Ajeel leapt away. Sado watched Ajeel as Ajeel looked around, seeming to begin to panic.

"Cut the crap," Sado said. "You're not this weak. And besides that, I can sense both Brandish and that other Spriggan already int he city, along with the other nine closing in from the North, South, and East. I have to admit, you all work fast. North and South I expected, but the East is a bit of a surprise."

Ajeel grinned. "Why thank you. You know, for worrying about your family in the city, you're pretty calm."

"I'm not fighting this war alone," Sado said. "My entire guild stands with me. And everyone in the guild is family. So even if _I_ can't defend my family, the _guild_ will."

Ajeel grinned. "Now that's funny!"

He slammed his hands into the ground and sand exploded up from below Sado, Sado taking off again, the sand chasing him, much, much faster this time, and Sado struggling to keep out of its clutches. He blasted it when he could, struggling to evade and attack at the same time. Finally, sand caught his leg, yanking him backward into the rest. Sado grit his teeth, feeling it rapidly draining the water from his body, squeezing him agonizingly as it did. He roared, sending flames out of his entire body, but even as he burned the sand into oblivion, still more pressed inward. Sado let the flames end, struggling to break free. Then, the sand fell away and Sado flipped, spreading his wings and catching himself, seeing Erza hovering beside him in her Heaven's Wheel armor.

"Erza, leave," Sado said. "This isn't the place for you."

"I'm not leaving you to fight him alone," Erza said.

"There's an army of one million soldiers approaching on foot from the east with three of the twelve, and a fleet of three hundred ships on the north with another three, and a matching one from the south," Sado said. "You need to be elsewhere. Brandish is somewhere in the city, too."

Erza stared at him before looking to Ajeel. Finally, she sighed, nodding and leaving. As soon as she did, sand exploded up from below Sado again, only for Sado to erupt into a fireball, scattering the sand as the real Sado crashed down on Ajeel's back in a massive explosion. Ajeel screamed in pain, flipping and swiping a hand, a massive blast of sand crashing into Sado and hurling him. Sado flipped, landing on his feet as Ajeel staggered to his feet, burns reaching around from his back and with most of his hair burned off, murder flooding from his eyes.

"You're a dead man!" Ajeel seethed. "Sand World!"

Almost instantly, a massive sandstorm exploded into existence, the storm so thick that Sado couldn't see Ajeel anymore, in fact, if he stretched his arm all the way out, he couldn't see his hand. He grit his teeth, closing his eyes against the sand, struggling to sense for Ajeel.

"Having trouble!?" Ajeel's voice shouted over the wind less than a second before sand blasted into Sado, sending him crashing along the ground.

Sado flipped, slamming his hands into the ground, sending out a massive explosion, but the sandstorm remained solidly in place.

"Nice try freak!" Ajeel grinned, his foot flashing out of the storm and crashing into Sado's head, throwing him, only for sand to crash down on him, smashing him into the ground before Ajeel punted him, sending him flying again. Sado grit his teeth, pushing himself upward and looking around.

"This is my Sand World," Ajeel's voice said from all around him. "And here, I'm God! Ramal Sayf!"

Sado instantly remembered his first fight with Ajeel and the attack in which Ajeel sent blasts of sand at him from above while in the middle of a sand tornado. He roared, flames filling the air above him, only for the blasts of sand to explode into his back, launching him. Unlike the last time, not only was he caught off guard by the attack coming from a direction he didn't expect, but the projectiles were stronger, faster, and much more numerous. By the time they stopped a few seconds later, they had broken multiple bones, shredded the skin of his back, and then had begun bouncing him along the ground, shredding even more of his skin as they did. Sado groaned, forcing himself to his feet just as Ajeel grabbed him by the throat, lifting him, grinning wickedly as he formed an axe.

"Ramal Fas!" Ajeel shouted, slashing at him.

The axe sped toward his throat, but before it could reach him, Sado's tail swung around, driving itself through Ajeel's heart. Ajeel's hand dropped the axe instantly and he dropped Sado, who ripped his tail back, landing on his hands and feet as Ajeel staggered backward, eyes wide with disbelief, staring at his chest.

"How did you..." Ajeel trailed off, looking up at Sado just in time for Sado's fist to crash into his jaw, hurling him into the air before Sado crouched, pure white phoenix wings forming along his arms.

"Phoenix Flight!" Sado shouted, exploding off of the ground and forming his shroud before crashing into Ajeel.

The shroud exploded and Ajeel's body was sent spinning into the air, the sandstorm falling away instantly before the body crashed back to the ground, burned beyond recognition. Sado sighed, turning and flying back toward Magnolia, heading for the break in the barrier that he could sense Alvarez troops flooding into the city through. As he flew, he pulled out the only healing lacrima he had on him, swallowing it and, as usual, gagging it down. His wounds steamed and sealed themselves and he reached the break, roaring as he flew over the Alvarez troops, a jet of flame exploding into them, torching them all in a long trail. He flew quickly, clearing the street until he reached the main fight, landing beside Gray and stared at what looked exactly like Seilah, but with a the little hair tie in the front that Mira had.

"Mira?" Sado blinked. "You have a Seilah form?"

Mira smiled and nodded. "i never had an opportunity to use it up until now, and it never really came up in conversation."

"I suppose not," Sado nodded. "Kinda spooky having you look like her though."

Mira smiled before looking past Sado. Sado turned, seeing a line of soldiers standing before them. These were different though. They were machines, each with black hair with a single spike on top of their heads, metal collar-like splints wrapping around their necks and reaching up to above their noses in front then curving upward to cover their ears before wrapping around the back, and white and black uniforms.

"These look fancy," Sado said as they charged.

One swung at Juvia, who allowed the strike to pass through her. However, as she did, the fist began to spit steam and Juvia screamed, body reforming with a nasty burn on her side.

"Juvia!" Gray shouted, preparing a spell, only for the next robot's first to be engulfed in fire before punching and sending out an explosion, which Sado instantly swallowed.

"Now that's just gross," Sado said, spitting. "It tastes like oil. Oh well. A free meal is a free meal. Fire Make Explosion!"

He slammed his hands into the ground and spikes of solid flame began to explode out of the ground in a trail at the robots. One of them leapt out of the way, and the one with fire abilities blasted the spikes heading for him, but the rest, to include one that looked like Elfman for some reason, were all skewered and exploded. Sado sighed, cracking his neck as he turned to the last two.

"You're not half bad," a voice said behind the two, Sado looking toward the smoke, seeing a man step out of them. He had the same hairstyle as the robots but had a round face and body with long thin arms and legs, reminding Sado of a frog. "I didn't see you when I used my magic, Weakness, to build those."

"I see," Sado said. "That's a shame."

Just then, the two remaining machines appeared on either side of him, punching, but his wings snapped out, turning into twin jets of flame that blasted the robots apart before returning to their wing form. The man raised an eyebrow and grinned.

"You're very interesting," the man said.

"And you're Wall Eehto," Sado said. "A Machina that is incredibly skilled at building machines to do his work for him."

Wall chuckled. "Indeed. Anyway, I'm going to go and deal with the caster of this barrier now. Enjoy the rest of the machines."

"Wait, the rest?" Sado blinked just as several dozen short pillars of glowing rectangles arranged into broken rings appeared along the street, spinning and forming more robots inside of them, all of these looking like Mirajane, except for a handful that looked like Elfman.

Sado felt his gut drop out from under him as the machines charged. That was a low blow. Even for an enemy. The others all shouted in effort, moving to fight. Sado grit his teeth, forming himself a Fire Make Sword and charging after them. After about thirty seconds, they had gotten the hang of telling which one was meant for who, and began to swap, everyone destroying machines that were meant for someone else. Sado, on the other hand, simply straight-up ignored the fact that they all looked like Mira. He knew the difference. And apparently Wall hadn't bothered to look for a legitimate weakness.

Finally, they finished the last of them just as Freed reported that Wall Eehto had been defeated through Warren's Telepathy, and Natsu reported the west side was clear of enemies.

"Looks like the first wave's done," Sado sighed.

"We finished cleaning up the trash on our end as well," Gray reported.

"Casualties?" Sado asked.

"Nothing major," Natsu said.

"Bixlow and Evergreen are pretty banged up, but they'll be okay," Freed said. "Oh, and Ichiya's here."

Sado blinked before shaking his head. "Very well. So, who's next?"

"We managed to capture one of the twelve," Lucy reported, everyone's jaw dropping open. "Even if it _was_ a fluke."

"We'll bring her back to the guild," Cana said.

"Excuse me!?" Sado gaped. " _Her_!? You captured Brandish!? How the fuck!?"

"Allergies!" Cana laughed.

"I don't even want to know," Sado said. "Everyone be ready for the next wave. I can sense all nine of the remaining Spriggan Twelve members closing in."

Just then, an explosion echoed through the city and everyone spun toward Cardia Cathedral, seeing smoke rising.

"That was from Cardia," Lisanna said.

"Ever!" Elfman shouted.

Sado shot into the air, but just as he got there, he froze, turning south, toward Hargeon, sensing something coming fast. He squinted, seeing a tiny speck of light on the horizon.

"There's a magic blast coming at Fairy Tail!" Warren shouted suddenly. "It's going to be a direct hit!"

"The hell it is!" Sado shouted, flying into its path and inhaling.

Then, he roared, holding his hands, feet, tail, and wings all out toward the blast, a massive wall of flames as hot as his first fight with Ajeel shooting away form him and exploding into the blast, fighting to hold it back, slowly losing ground.

"Hang in there Sado!" Mavis's voice said. "You're doing it!"

Sado grit his teeth, the blast beginning to speed up again as he began to run out of breath. Then, he had to stop roaring, gasping for breath and the blast took off. Sado's flames ended and he felt his head spinning from pushing too hard. Then, something was in front of him, exploding as the blast hit it.

"He blocked it with Christina!" Max's voice shouted.

"Fiore communications system activated," Ichiya's voice said, suddenly also in his head. "Do you hear me ladies and gentlemen? This is our fight. Alvarez has declared war on Fairy Tail. The first wave has been fended off, but the true war is about to begin. We need your aid."

Then, Ichiya leapt out of Christina's falling debris, Sado catching him as the debris crashed down.

"How do you know if they'll help?" Sado asked.

"Oh, they'll help," Ichiya said. "They were simply waiting for the signal."

Sado smiled and flew him to the guild hall, the others gathering shortly after with the wounded, Freed, Bixlow, and Evergreen all badly wounded by the explosion at the cathedral now. Sado set Ichiya with the other wounded and then went to look for Mira and Hope, needing to see that they were both still safe.

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	119. Chapter 119

I do not own any of the original Fairy Tail characters.

* * *

God

The teams had been chosen. To the North, reinforcing Blue Pegasus and Sabertooth, would be Mira, Elfman, Lisanna, Yukino, Gajeel, Levy, and Panther Lily. To the South, reinforcing Lamia Scale and Mermaid Heel, were Natsu, Gray, Juvia, Wendy, Erza, and Laxus. Lucy and Cana would be remaining at the guild to keep an eye on Brandish. On the East, the remaining Wizard Saints, consisting of rank five Jura, rank four Warrod, rank three Wolfheim, and rank two Draculos Hyberion. Sado himself was not given any orders. The only problem was, Natsu was missing.

"Hey, it's Natsu!" Warren shouted as the lacrima map they had lit up, showing Natsu moving rapidly west, toward where Mavis had said Zeref was most likely located. "Man he's really flying."

"Where's he going?" someone asked.

"Zeref," Sado said. "He's after Zeref."

Everyone stared at him, then at the map again.

"He's insane!" someone shouted.

"He can't really be planning to fight Zeref alone can he!?" Droy asked.

"That brat," Laxus growled.

"Change of plans," Gray growled. "Let's go."

"No," Sado said. "Stick to Mavis's plans. I'll go south as Natsu's replacement."

"Okay," Mavis nodded. "That will work. Be ready to reinforce the Northern front, though."

"I will," Sado nodded.

Mavis nodded and turned, walking away with Makarov and Sado sighed, sitting at the bar and using a Fire Make Whip to get himself a bottle of water. Mira sat beside him a moment later and he smiled.

"You be careful, okay?" Sado asked. "I don't want to lose you."

"I will be," Mira smiled. "But if we signal for help, you hurry over."

"I will," Sado smiled. "Remember how to signal?"

He rested a hand on his Devil's Claw crest and Mira nodded, turned around on his stool, leaning back against the bar and looked around. Gajeel and Levy were seated beside each other, albeit with Panther Lily and a couple others, and Sado couldn't tell if they were being open about their feelings or not. However, as he looked around the room, he spotted Lisanna and Yukino kissing.

"Finally," he smiled.

Mira followed his gaze and also smiled, nodding. "It's about time."

"I guess war has a way of forcing people to admit things they don't want," Sado said. "I'm worried."

"Why?" Mira asked.

"If I meet Neinhart, there's a very good chance he'll revive Sebastian," Sado said. "And the others."

Mira remained silent for a few seconds. "If you need help, I'll be there as fast as I can."

"No," Sado said. "You need to focus on your battle. If necessary, I'll have Gray and Ur there."

Mira nodded. "That's true. Alright. Just be careful."

"You too," Sado said, kissing her.

"Sado, time to go," Erza said.

Sado nodded, draining his water before following them out of the guild hall, all starting south quickly. When the sun sank below the horizon, they stopped for the night, Laxus disappearing not long after. Then, just before sunrise, they continued. They were close. Sado could already sense the individual powers of the forces, and the all but screaming-for-attention powers of the Spriggan Twelve. And he found that the devil whose memories he had taken was right. When he sensed Dimaria, his skin crawled and fear radiated through him. She had the power of a god. No question. They finally crested a hill and saw the fight. Thousands of Alvarez troops. Less than two hundred Ishgar wizards. Then, Sado's eyes focussed in on Dimaria, seeing her making a beeline for Shelia.

"Let's go Wendy," Sado growled, Devil Traits exploding to life as he rocketed forward, Wendy just behind him in Dragon Force, also having seen Dimaria moving to attack Shelia.

As they eared them, Dimaria slashed Shelia's shirt, stripping it off of her completely before preparing to kill her. Just as she slashed, however, her sword slammed into Sado's devil hand, halting before Wendy slammed a kick into her, hurling her away.

"Wendy!" Shelia gasped, smiling, just as Sado's falling coat landed around her shoulders, allowing her to cover herself.

"We're here to help," Wendy said as Wendy landed beside her. "The Sky Sisters are back in business."

"Excellent," Shelia grinned. "And we've got a Fire Devil to help us."

"And we're fighting against someone with the power of a god," Sado said. "Be careful."

"He's right," Dimaria smirked. "I must say, I'm kind of excited to match the power of a god against that of a devil. Of course, we all know that the gods always beat the devils."

"Don't count your chickens just yet, Dimaria," Sado said. "So long as it's not Chronos, I might have a chance of winning this."

Dimaria began to laugh, hard. "Tell you what, why don't you send the kids on home so we can test that, shall we? This really isn't any place for children. Even with you here, I'd kill them in a snap." She snapped her fingers to accent the statement. "It'd be faster than a blink. For you, anyway."

Sado swore. "It _is_ Chronos! Mother fucker!"

"What's so bad about that?" Wendy asked.

"Chronos gives her the ability to control time, to a certain extent," Sado said. "This just got a lot more impossible."

"You mean difficult, right?" Shelia asked.

"No, impossible," Sado said, turning to look toward Dimaria again just as Dimaria clicked her teeth twice.

Then, suddenly, she was in front of Wendy, her sword swinging down at Wendy's neck. Sado's body reacted on instinct, catching the blade before he dropped into a crouch, allowing Wendy and Shelia to both slam a wind-powered kick into her, sending her blasting away.

"How the hell are you all moving?" Dimaria demanded.

"I'm honestly not sure," Sado said.

"It's because of me," a familiar voice off to the side said, Sado grinning and turning to look as Ultear walked over, a confident smile on her face. "Thanks to my Arc of Time magic, I'm immune to her power, so I'm able to move about freely. And in addition to that, I can allow others of my choosing to do it as well."

"Good," Sado said, turning back to Dimaria. "We'll need all the help we can get."

"I agree," Ultear nodded, placing her hands together. "Shall we?"

Dimaria snarled angrily, sprinting forward. She flipped out of the way of Ultear's ice, then slashed a jet of flames from Sado, the force against her sword shoving her out of the way. Then, as she landed, Wendy and Shelia attacked, only for her to block it with her sword before smirking.

"Alright, fine," Dimaria said. "Time to switch."

She slashed the sword and it suddenly burst into tiny chunks, which she sent flying at them all with a wave of her hand. Sado and Ultear each formed a shield to block them but they smashed straight through, forcing them to avoid them rapidly, Wendy and Shelia both being hit with a barrage but coming out of it mostly unharmed. As soon as the barrage ended, Sado looked back at Dimaria and stared. She had magic energy covering her like flames, but tight to her body like a black body suit with gold markings winding around her arms and legs, then spreading over her torso with an odd double-ended-arrow-like shape in the center of her torso with the top wider than the bottom, then with her hair flowing above her like a black flame, a golden aura surrounding her entire body and her eyes shining from her shadowed upper face.

"Takeover, God Soul," Dimaria said, watching them in silence for a moment before screaming.

Instantly, a massive explosion of magic energy exploded off of her for a hundred feet, cratering the ground and blasting them all. Sado groaned, pushing himself up and glaring at the being before him. He wasn't sure if it was Chronos or Dimaria they were facing.

"Bow down as I, Chronos, God of time, descend before you," she said.

"So she really does have the power of a god," Wendy said. "How is that even possible?"

"An ancient god, revered in Mildian centuries ago, has now become one with me, a descendent of his vessel," Dimaria said.

"Well, if you're really a god, then it's my turn to shine," Shelia smirked.

Dimaria raised a hand, pointing at Wendy. Then, Sado tackled her out of the way, a laser of condensed ethernano fired from Dimaria's finger, grazing his back but missing anything vital. He flipped, landing on his feet and set Wendy on her feet, sighing.

"How did you see that coming?" Wendy asked.

"I didn't," Sado said. "But if a god's pointing at an enemy, it can't be anything good. I also have a sort of...let's say instinct, that kicked in, probably because I'm a devil and she's a god."

Wendy nodded and Sado took a steadying breath, then took off, slamming a punch into Dimaria, sending her exploding backward, blasting through a group of Alvarez soldiers before she stopped, firing another laser. Sado dodged out of the way and roared, a jet of flames shooting across the gap between them at her, melting the ground, before she raised a hand, the flames parting around her hand and missing her entirely. Sado grit his teeth, streaking forward and pushing his flames hotter, his Devil Traits bleaching white again, as they had against Ajeel. He threw a punch at her, but Dimaria caught it, slamming her own into his chest, hurling him. He flipped, landing on his feet and blasted forward again, flames exploding into existence around his fist and he slammed a punch into Dimaria's face, ducking around the hand she had meant to block with, just as Shelia's magic exploded into Dimaria's back. The explosion sent Dimaria flipping away from Sado, Shelia having made sure to attack from a distance, and Sado shot after her, catching up and grabbing her by the back of the head, slamming her face into the ground and using her to plow it up for a ways before she flipped, smashing a kick into his face, hurling him backward. Sado crashed down hard, bouncing once before landing on his feet beside Shelia and Wendy again, glaring at Dimaria.

"All that defile my world will pay in blood," Dimaria said, pointing at them.

"I might have an idea," Ultear said. "The Third Origin. All of the power you could have in the future."

"At what price?" Sado asked.

"You will lose your magic," Ultear said. "We don't have much of a choice."

"Yes we do," Sado said. "Shelia and I can handle this. Maybe not very quickly, and maybe not without being exhausted, but we can."

"I can help," Wendy said, reentering Dragon Force.

"Just make sure not to get caught up in my attacks," Sado said. "Ultear, how much longer can you keep us going?"

"Not long," Ultear admitted. "I'm running out of strength quickly."

"Let my time stop," Carla said. "It'll reduce the strain on you."

Ultear nodded and Sado glanced at Wendy, then back at Dimaria.

"Me too," Wendy said. "It'll be better if we have a well-rested healer after the fight, rather than all three of us exhausted."

Ultear nodded and both Wendy and Carla froze. Sado took a long breath, Shelia doing the same, before both exhaled, a massive blast of both of their magics tearing across the ground, spiraling together just before exploding against Dimaria, hurling her. Sado shot after her, roaring deafeningly as he neared her, drilling a punch into her abdomen and blasting her into the ground before slamming a foot into her, launching her into the sky and roaring, sending a jet of flame that rapidly melted the ground around and beneath him into lava up into the sky after her, the flames hitting her and exploding, the explosion filling the sky. Then, she fell out of it, crashing down hard before standing and holding out a hand.

"Age Scratch!" Dimaria said, agony suddenly ripping through Sado's body in waves, his mind all but screaming that he was covered in wounds, too many to count, too many to have a body left.

Yet he was fine. He roared, exploding forward and punching at her, only for her to brush it aside, slamming her own fist into his jaw. Just as she did, however, Shelia stepped around him, slamming both fists into her, twin tornados of pitch black wind exploding outward from her fists, sending Dimaria crashing across the ground. Then, as Dimaria was standing, both of them crashed down on her back, a massive explosion shooting off of them, Sado making sure to get Shelia out of the way of it. As they landed, Dimaria began to stand again, staggering to the side, her hair settling down to what it was.

"I've had enough of you," she growled. "Age Scratch!"

This time, she appeared between them, claws tearing through them both before agony filled both of their bodies. Sado staggered forward, then turned, kneeling and forming his phoenix wings.

"Shelia, I'm going to need a power boost," Sado said through gritted teeth.

"R...Right!" Shelia said, focusing her magic through the pain. "God Slayer Secret Art, Heavenly Gathering of Clouds!"

Just as the black feathers formed around Sado's body, Sado exploded off of the ground, streaking across the short distance to Dimaria, several laser beams punching through his body as he did.

"Phoenix Flight!" Sado shouted, the blast slamming into Dimaria's abdomen, exploding and sending her crashing across the battlefield, landing in a heap, clothes in tatters but covering her, and completely unconscious.

Sado crashed to the ground as time resumed and Shelia ran over to him, beginning to heal him as Wendy ran over, beginning to help.

"You did it!" Wendy said. "Congratulations!"

"Thanks," Sado smiled as they worked, Ultear and Carla covering them from any Alvarez troops that tried to attack them.

After a few moments, they had finished most of the external damage and Sado pushed himself up, swiping an arm out to the side and sending a fireball flying into a group of Alvarez soldiers that were nearing them. Sado looked around as he sensed a power spike on a ship off to the side.

"I found the last Spriggan Twelve member here," Sado said. "Erza, Ultear, and Jellal are handling him."

"Good," Shelia said. "Focus on the task at hand."

"I am," Sado said, sliding his left foot to the side, Fire Make Snakes bursting out of the ground and constricting dozens of Alvarez troops around them, some crushing their pray, others biting them and injecting fire into their veins, others simply holding them for someone else to kill them. "Thanks for boosting my energy Wendy."

"No problem," Wendy smiled before spinning and blasting a group of Alvarez troops with a Sky Dragon Roar.

Before it could hit, a creature with grey stone-like skin, spikes for hair, four arms, a black skirt for clothing, and a sadistic grin appeared in the path, blocking it instantly. Sado's instincts all but screamed Etherious and he roared, sending a jet of flames at it, only for a second person to appear in its path, the flames being blocked by a floating wall of stone, fear flooding Sado instantly.

"Run," Sado said. "As fast and as far as you can. Run now."

"But-" Sado cut Shelia off by grabbing her and spinning, hurling her away, Wendy and Ultear taking the hint and taking off after her.

Then, Sado exploded into the air, just barely avoiding a stone spear, which impaled a dozen Alvarez troops before stopping. He stopped once he was in the air and turned, watching as Sebastian rose into the air before him, grinning from ear to ear.

"This should be fun," Sebastian said.

"Speak for yourself," Sado said.

"I am," Sebastian grinned.

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	120. Chapter 120

I do not own any of the original Fairy Tail characters.

* * *

Ruined Plans

"This should be fun," Sebastian said.

"Speak for yourself," Sado said.

"I am," Sebastian grinned.

Then, they were off, Sebastian's magic streaking past him rapidly as they flew in bursts of lightning or water, and spikes of ice or stone. Finally, Sado had gotten a relatively safe distance of a couple dozen miles from shore and Sado flipped, roaring and sending a jet of fame as hot as he could make at Sebastian, only for Sebastian to flip out of the way. He roared as well, sending a blast of his own magics at Sado. Sado flipped, streaking over it and they both began to fly around rapidly, rapidly firing blasts of magic at each other, avoiding each other's. Sado's fireballs all fizzled out on the water, however, finally, Sado was tired of being careful. If he was going to survive the fight, much less win, he would need to stop holding back.

He flipped under a blast of Heavenly Body Devil Slayer Magic before streaking up at Sebastian, who coated his hand in lightning, punching at Sado. Their fists met in a massive explosion, hurling them both away. Sado stopped himself and roared, hurling a fireball as tall as Sado was at Sebastian. Sebastian laughed, moving to fly around it, only for Sado to snap his fingers. Instantly, the fireball erupted, the explosion expanding so fast that it swallowed them both entirely before Sado had even realized it had detonated. He swore loudly as he looked around, his ears ringing from the explosion, though his eyes had made it through the blinding light of it thanks to it being his own explosion. He turned back toward shore and began to fly, taking nearly four miles before he finally left the explosion's cloud. He rolled over, flying backward as he stared up at the gigantic mushroom cloud he had left, mouth hanging open in shock. It was roughly eight miles across, and still expanding rapidly, consisted of smoke, evaporated water, debris and dust from the ocean's floor, and stretched up above the clouds with several rings of condensation formed around the stem of the mushroom cloud, as well as the top, which was still rolling in on itself and glowing with flames.

He rolled, speeding up and heading for shore, worried about what the concussion of such a gigantic explosion could have done. He had had no idea that setting off a fireball of flames at that temperature would cause that big an explosion. Finally he reached the beach and slowed to a stop, staring. The ships had been almost universally turned into shrapnel, as had half of Hargeon itself. The a further quarter of it had been ripped to bits, and the last of it had been nearly destroyed. However, there _was_ some good news. A massive succession of ice walls, pink, white, and green, were still partially standing between the explosion and the beach. No one had been harmed by the explosion, just the buildings and ships. Erza, Jellal, and Kagura were all standing on the beach behind the ice walls, defending an exhausted Ur, Gray, and Lyon against Mard Geer, and Tempester.

"Ur, Gray, Lyon!" Sado called out, landing beside Ur.

"You're reckless," Ur smiled tiredly. "You almost wiped Hargeon off the map."

"Together, the three of us were able to hold the blast back to keep anyone from dying," Gray sai, not even able to sit up, Lyon completely unconscious. "But...well..."

Sado looked up at the ice walls. There were three still standing and all three were partially shattered.

"I'm so sorry," Sado said. "I had no idea that would happen. I didn't even know I could _do_ that."

"It's alright," Ur sighed. "No real harm done. The city can be rebuilt."

Just then, Kagura and Erza crashed down on either side of Sado, both severely wounded, and Mard Geer stalked toward them, Curse Energy flying up around him for a moment as he did, leaving him in his stronger form.

"Fire Devil," Mard Geer said. "You've become truly powerful since we last fought. I wish to test your strength."

"I acc-" Sado was cut off by a hand grabbing the back of his head and slamming it into the ground, plowing him through it as the person flew past Mard Geer.

"Get in line!" Sebastian shouted, looping around and hurling Sado through the remaining ice walls, sending him bouncing across the water before blasting him with a combination of Lightning and Water, sending him flying into the mushroom cloud again.

Sado flipped, stopping himself just as the dust before him parted, Sebastian flying at him with all seven of his magics around his right fist, his left side hanging limply and burned black, but slowly healing. The part that caught Sado's attention, though, was the pitch black devil wings and horns extended from Sebastian now. Sado flipped over the strike and inhaled, then roared while still upside down, blasting him in the back and sending him streaking away, the cloud around them clearing as he did.

Finally, Sado let it end and flipped over, glaring at Sebastian as Sebastian flipped over, grinning wickedly. He shot back toward Sado, Sado gritting his teeth and flying to meet him, their fists meeting. A massive explosion shot off of them, clearing the cloud around them completely, but not making it back to shore this time. Unlike last time they had matched punches, Sado found himself as the only person flying through the air. Just as he managed to stop flipping, Sebastian appeared over him, drilling a punch into his face, sending him exploding down through the water and into the ground. Then, the ground below Sado exploded, the water erupting into a geyser and hurling Sado back into the sky faster than Sado could react, where Sebastian met him with another punch, sending him exploding into the ground below the water again. This time, Sado spiked his power, the water clearing around him and allowing him to explode off of the ground, shattering it, but bringing a massive wall of blindingly white flames with him, with spiraled together into a fist. Then, as Sado reached Sebastian, both his fist and the giant flaming one crashed into Sebastian, both aimed directly away from the beach. The flame fist erupted into a gigantic explosion, flashing away from Sado with Sebastian and turning the water into steam for several miles in every direction. Sado used his flames' heat to slow its return, and waited, knowing Sebastian wasn't finished yet.

"You're truly a monster," Sebastian finally said as he slowed to a stop before Sado, burns covering him. "And here I thought you were tired from fighting that wannabe god bitch."

"I was," Sado said. "But then I saw you and remembered how long your shadow darkened my life, and how much I hate you for fucking my girlfriend, and my devil blood began to boil, increasing the strength of my flames and making my magic replenish itself _much_ faster than it should."

"I see," Sebastian smirked. "Then I guess I'll be able to fight you for a while as well. Because I have nothing _but_ hate for you."

"I can tell," Sado said. "You've become a devil yourself, after all."

"Whatever it takes," Sebastian snarled.

Sado raised a hand, but before he could attack, Mard Geer exploded into his back with both fists covered in Curse Energy, sending Sado spinning through the air and crashing down into the water. He surfaced just as a massive fist made of water exploded into him, sending him hurtling away from Sebastian and Mard Geer. He flipped finally, stopping himself and gritting his teeth. For all his big words to Sebastian, Sebastian had been right. He was running on empty. Maybe two more big attacks and he'd be down for the count. His only hope was that someone kill Neinhart soon.

He flipped as Mard Geer passed under him, only for Sebastian to slam a lightning colored fist into his face, Sebastian's entire body covered by the gold energy granted by Meteor. Sado bounced off the ground and a fist of water exploded into him, sending him flying into Mard Geer's fist. As soon as he was flying again, Sebastian streaked around behind him, slamming a kick charged with his six more survivable magics into his back, sending him flying at Mard Geer again. Mard Geer laughed, clasping his hands on his right and smashing Sado away again.

"Best game of pass I've ever played," Mard Geer laughed.

Sado felt Sebastian's blow crash into his face and counted the time down. Just as Mard Geer swung at him, Sado flipped, his right fist extending to ten times Sado's size before he swung it at Mard Geer. Less than a second before it hit, Sebastian's feet both exploded into Sado's face, a bolt of lightning sending him bouncing along the sea, miraculously crashing back down beside Ur again, groaning and struggling futilely to stand.

"Sado!" Ur gasped.

"Dammit!" Erza swore, looking up at what little remained of the ice wall as Sebastian and Mard Geer both landed on it.

Then, the sky above them suddenly opened from day into the night sky like someone had poked a hole in it and the hole had spread to cover the sky. Sebastian and Mard Geer both looked up and Sebastian grinned.

"Grand Chariot," Sebastian smirked. "Neinhart's finished. We should finish this too."

Mard Geer nodded, flying into the air as Sebastian held out his hand, a gigantic sphere of darkness with tiny specks of light appeared in front of him, growing to more than double the size of the one Jellal had used against them and Natsu so long ago in the Tower of Heaven.

"Altairis," Sebastian grinned, firing it.

"No!" Erza shouted, requipping into her Adamantine Armor, only for Mard Geer to blast her out of the way before she could use the shield.

Sado opened his eyes, staring at the spell as it descended, only for ice to exploded out of the ground, encasing it. He blinked, staring off to the side at Ultear, who was panting and had a gash in her side, along with several burns, but was in better shape than Sado or the other three Maker Magic users. The top of the ice pillar cracked and the Altairis exploded, all of its force directed upward into Mard Geer and Sebastian instead, hurling them both just before seven gigantic blasts of red energy shot out of the sky above them, exploding in the distance, the sky returning to normal as it did, the sun having reached the horizon, leaving the sky a brilliant scarlet. Sado looked up at Sebastian and Mard Geer, both of whom were fading quickly. Mard Geer seemed calm, accepting his fate, while Sebastian was furious, swinging his arms and screaming at the top of his lungs, desperately trying to get off one last attack before he was gone, even though it clearly wasn't working. Sado sighed, letting his body finally relax and groaning as he finally acknowledged just how much pain he was in.

"I think I fucked up a little," Sado groaned.

"It's alright," Wendy said as she and Shelia knelt beside him. "We can patch you up again."

He chuckled, nodding. He supposed this might be a regular occurrence if he didn't get back to Porlyusica for more healing lacrimas. After a few minutes, they had healed him enough that he could move on his own and he stood, helping Ur up, then lifting Lyon as Erza lifted Gray. Then, they all headed toward the non-destroyed part of town to try and find someplace to treat the wounded, the last of the Alvarez troops being in the process of being restrained, all having surrendered on account of the Spriggan 12 all being taken out and someone displaying enough power to easily wipe them all off the face of the earth, though they didn't know that Sado was too exhausted to light a candle now.

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	121. Chapter 121

I do not own any of the original Fairy Tail characters.

* * *

Shuffled

Sado groaned, opening his eyes and pushing himself up, looking down at his fully healed body. He was exhausted still, but he was healed.

"How long was I out?" Sado asked.

"A few hours," Ur said. "You missed Kagura kissing Erza."

"Excuse me?" Sado asked, staring up at her.

"Apparently Jellal almost drown near the beginning of their fight with Neinhart, and Kagura had to resuscitate him," Ur explained. "So she felt like she had kissed him and to apologize to Erza, she kissed her."

"I bet Erza's expression was priceless," Sado grinned.

"Oh yeah," Ur chuckled. "So was everyone else's. You should have seen the look on _Jellal's_ face."

Sado laughed. "Is there any fire around?"

"I'm sure we can find a fire mage," Ur smiled. "We're planning to head back to the guild to check on the others."

"Good," Sado nodded. "I'll be able to have Porlyusica make me more healing lacrimas. I have a feeling we'll need them."

"Definitely," Ur nodded.

Sado sighed, pushing himself to his feet finally and walked outside, smiling as he saw the members of Lamia Scale and Mermaid Heel were celebrating. He inhaled deeply, enjoying being able to get a breath of air without having to spit fire at someone that was about to kill him. Just as he exhaled, a blinding light suddenly shone from the horizon off to his side, Sado groaning and shielding his eyes. then, the ground lurched violently and he fell to the ground, grunting as he landed and rolled onto his stomach, pressing his hands into his eyes to try to block out the all-consuming light that bled through his hands anyway. Then, finally, the light faded and he slowly lowered his hands, looking around and staring in shock. He was lying on a beach, waves lapping at his legs as though to prove it was real. Even more bizarre, was that most of the guild members that he knew were supposed to be at the guild hall were with him, as were Lisanna and Mirajane.

"Sado!" Mira gasped, hurrying over and helping him up.

"Thanks," he smiled. "Let me guess, there was a blinding light and suddenly, poof, you're here."

"Pretty much," Mira nodded, smiling.

"Same for us," Makarov said. "I'm glad to see you're okay, Sado."

"I could say the same," Sado smiled. "I almost wasn't. I had to fight Chronos, the god of time, then had to fight both Mard Geer and Sebastian again, at the same time."

"What!?" Mira gasped. "Why didn't you call!?"

"You had your own fight to worry about," Sado said. "Besides that, there wasn't time."

"Well, it would seem that you made it out of the battle in one pieces, or at least, Wendy and Shelia were able to return you to one piece," Porlyusica said, stepping up beside them with Faith and Hope.

"Hope!" Mira gasped, taking her and smiling happily, gently rocking Hope, who smiled, curling into Mira. "Oh I was so worried!"

"Thank you again for looking after her," Sado said.

"Thank me when this war ends," Porlyusica said. "Until then, you need to focus on staying alive. I don't have anything to make healing lacrimas with now."

Sado nodded, gently brushing a finger against Hope's cheek before petting Faith.

"I can see the enemy!" Alzack shouted. "There's a huge army and they're heading right for us!"

"Master?" Mira asked, looking to Makarov, Sado doing the same.

"Prepare for battle," Makarov said, holding out a fireball, Sado happily eating it, thanking him as he felt strength return to him rapidly.

Mira handed Hope back to Porlyusica, who stepped back and Sado and Mira walked to the front. Everyone turned toward the direction Alzack was looking, and Sado took a slow breath, holding it a moment before exhaling just as slowly.

"Be careful," Sado said. "There are two strong ones closing in. The main troops, though..."

He stomped a foot, a wave of flames shooting across the ground to the lines of Alvarez troops, all of them wearing cold weather gear, and exploded, taking out several rows of them before the others began to charge. The others all took off as well once the troops were close enough, beginning to tear into the troops, taking them down quickly. Sado formed himself a Fire Make Sword and joined them, quickly taking down troops. Then, just as Jet sped past, his foot slipped on something and he crashed to the ground, hard. A moment later, someone's foot slammed into Droy's face and he was sent flying before several strips of cloth wrapped around Nab and he was sent spinning through the air. Then, a second person landed beside the first. The first was a young girl with short orange hair in a pair of pigtails reaching her shoulders, a white coat with gold cuffs and highlights, a skirt with a golden fringe on the bottom, and white fir-lined snow boots. The other had a more mature figure, black hair with the bangs framing her face and hanging to the left over her forehead, then the back tired up with a golden crescent moon reaching up from behind her head with both points aimed upward, a navy blue bandanna, a navy blue zebra-print cloak with a crescent moon on the back, a skin-tight black body suit with the sides opened and connected with netting, and black boots.

"What's with these wimps?" the younger one asked, some kind of fluid dripping off of her hands slowly, both hands held in front of her. "So weak."

"The Irene Squad has joined the fray," the other said.

"Sorry we're so disappointing," Sado said. "Why don't I make it up to you?"

Both girls raised an eyebrow before grinning.

"He _is_ pretty powerful," The one dressed in white said.

"Alright, let's kill him before we kill Makarov," the other said.

Sado snorted in amusement. "Kill Makarov? Do you two have any idea who he is?"

"Yes we know," the one in white nodded. "We don't care."

"Who are you two?" Sado asked.

"I'm Juliet," the one in white said.

"And I'm Heine," the other said.

Sado cracked his knuckles just as a voice shouted in his head.

"The guild is this way!" the voice shouted, Sado feeling drawn to his right suddenly. "Make for the guild! Everyone, you must gather at once! You've all been separated due tot he enemy's magic, but now is the time to act as one! Mavis is a lot of trouble! She's a mother figure to all of you! Now head toward the guild, and make haste! Return to the guild, to Mavis's side, and protect her!"

"You don't do this much, do you?" Gajeel's voice suddenly said, also speaking inside Sado's mind. "You're far to high-handed. Next time, you might wanna try injecting a bit of charm and delicacy along with your message. I'm starting to wonder if you're really friends with the First Master."

Sado grinned. If Gajeel was there, the voice was telling the truth. So, the guild was North, then.

"Everyone get going," Sado said. "I can easily take these two out myself."

"You heard him!" Makarov shouted. "Everyone head North!"

All of the Fairy Tail members present began to run, quickly leaving the battlefield behind just as Juliet shot forward, throwing a punch at Sado. Sado avoided it and she splattered her weird goo substance over his front. Less than a second later, a dozen strips of cloth wrapped around him, binding him before beginning to swing him. However, before they could get far, Sado burned the goo and cloth away, landing on his feet and smirking.

"Nice try," Sado grinned. "You'll both have to do better than that."

"Alright, sure," Heine smirked. "Try this!"

More cloth burst out of the ground around him, but this time, he was unable to burn it away and when it wrapped around him, lightning magic began to flood through it, blasting him and holding him in place for several seconds before throwing him. He crashed down hard and Mira landed in front of him in her She Devil form in time to blast both Juliet and Heine, sending them both skidding backward across the ground, though they were largely unharmed.

"It would seem that we may have a bit of a problem," Mira said.

"Nah, Sado said. "I got this."

He exhaled a jet of flames at them, only for goo to explode out of the ground and block it completely. He rolled his eyes and took off, flying around and launching fireballs at the two, sending streams or waves of flame whenever he thought it would work better, however, Juliet seemed better at blocking his flames than he thought, allowing her to keep them both completely safe. Finally, he landed beside Mira again, eyebrow twitching.

"Okay, now she's just annoying me," Sado said. "And with you here, I can't go hot enough to burn through that shit."

Mira nodded. "I'll handle them, then."

Then, light and smoke exploded up around her before leaving her in a new form. It had a skin-tight black body suit with dark grey up the front and the inside of her legs, kneepads and segmented shin guards around her lower shins that wrapped all the way around her legs, both the same color as her scaled claws, which had remained the same color but become more rough, with several layers sticking out from the one before it on her forearms, matching elbow and shoulder guards, pointed ears, a headband made out of a black thorned vine wrapping around her head twice with the Tartaros Emblem on the front, and six scaled tentacle-like appendages grew from her back, all of them black but looking reminiscent of what the others had described Tartaros's living, floating cube had had. Or, at least, that was what they made him think of. They formed a sort of half-cape behind her.

"Wha...what is this!?" Juliet gaped.

"After the battle with Tartaros, there were a lot of souls ripe for the taking," Mira said. "So I did."

"She's drying up the sea!" Heine gaped, Sado glancing at it, seeing that it was indeed evaporating from the sheer amount of Magic Energy Mira was throwing off. "You...you monster!"

"Yes, I am," Mira said, the tendrils on her back rising to spread equally behind her in a circle before she exploded forward, grabbing both by the face. "That being said, that's no way to talk to a lady!" She slammed them both into the ground, a massive explosion of magic energy flying off of the impact, cratering the ground and planting their heads in the ground, Mira jumping back to Sado and falling to her knees, breathing hard. "The one massive drawback is how much magic energy it uses up. I can only use it for a moment before I'm exhausted."

"I can't believe you had not one, but two new forms you never told me about," Sado said. "I could have helped you master your Alegria form."

Mira smiled sweetly, then glanced at the two wizards she had just beaten in a single blow, only for her mouth to fall open. Sado looked and began to stare, seeing that the two women had transformed into a white and black sword respectively, the white sword with a red grip. He stared at them. That was impossible.

"Some enchanted... _personalities_ onto those swords!?" Sado gaped. "Impossible! No one can..."

He froze as a power so strong it felt like he was drowning in it appeared behind him. He spun, only for Irene's staff, one with a dual prong fork on the top with cheetah print from just below the fork up, to crash into his jaw, hurling him. He crashed down hard, flipping once and landing on his feet. Just as he did, Irene swung an arm out to the side, the black sword sending out strips of cloth, which bound Mira to a boulder just before Irene snapped her fingers, the white sword spraying Mira, who screamed as her clothes began to rapidly dissolve, her skin beginning to burn. Sado roared in rage, devil traits exploding into existence as he shot forward, landing in front of Mira, the heat from his flames instantly evaporating the goo and stopping it burning Mira any more. Irene smirked knowingly and raised her staff, swinging it, only for Sado to catch it. Irene's smile dropped off instantly.

"You've hurt her enough!" Sado snarled, slamming a foot into her abdomen, launching her backward, tossing her staff aside.

"I would almost say you deserved that," a deep, gruff voice off to the side said, just as a tsunami of power exploded into Sado's senses from out of the blue, making Sado stagger away from it as though physically struck, spinning and staring at the man before him.

He was tall, a full head taller than Sado, with dark red skin, grayish white hair in a very messy mane-like style falling down his back halfway, a gold circle on his forehead with three golden lines leading away from it on both sides, reaching down through his eyebrows, skipping to the bottom of his eyes, then moving down to the front of his shoulders, diagonally across his shoulders to his arms, then reaching around his arm around the bottom of his biceps. Sado stared at him. This was August, the Magic King.

"Your habit of torturing your victims is rather uncouth, to say the least," August continued, eyes never leaving Sado, one hand on his wooden staff, which had an oblong black stone on the top and a spike on the bottom, and the other resting at his side. "So, you are the Fire Devil, Sado."

"And you are August, the Magic King, and child of Mavis Vermillion and Zeref Dragneel," Sado said, Brandish and Irene staring at the two of them in shock. "Oh, sorry, was that a secret?"

"Not really," August said. "I simply never felt the need to inform anyone of it. How did you know?"

"The memories of a devil killed by God Serena," Sado said. "Where is he, anyway?"

"He was killed by Acnologia," August said, turning to Irene, who stepped up beside him and Brandish µ, who Sado really wasn't surprised to see, given they had all been teleported.

"It's been a long time, Lord August," Irene said, holding out her hand, her staff flying through the air back to her. "And Brandish is with you as well. you've grown so big I hardly recognized you."

"Hello," Brandish said, not looking overly interested in anything.

"You went and used Universe One without His Majesty's permission, I see," August said.

"Indeed," Irene agreed. "With Acnologia staring me in the face, I'm afraid even I had no choice but to take drastic measures. That said, I only successfully drove him away for the time being. But I managed to send His Majesty straight to Fairy Tail while I was at it. You have no grounds to criticize or reprimand me, wouldn't you say?"

"For now, the twelve shall gather and convene at his Majesty's side," August said.

"Well I don't want to," Irene said, hands on her hips as Sado quickly walked to Mira, pulling at the fabric holding her, finding it was suddenly much, much harder to break. "I'll move as I like and that's that."

"This is my decision as the leader of the Spriggan Twelve, there will be no compromises," August growled, looking to Sado again as he finally managed to break one of the cloths, though there were many, many more.

"So be it," Irene sighed, finally. "I'll let you save face...this time. That being said, I'm going to finish off this little girl who dared to raise a hand against my children. I won't compromise on th-"

She was cut off by a blast of magic flashing out of August's finger and blasting through the boulder, shattering it. However, where he had intended to kill Mira, he instead hit only the boulder. Sado sighed in relief, looking down at the three from the air above them, swallowing hard.

"Are you alright?" Sado asked.

"Yes," Mira nodded.

"He's fast," Brandish said. "I didn't even see him move that time."

"Such is the power of love," August said. "Brandish, Irene, go to His Majesty. I will finish these two here."

"Please just go!" Sado said. "I don't want to fight you. I'm not foolish enough to believe I could win. I just want to protect Mira."

"You are an enemy of His Majesty," August said. "And you are an abomination. So you will die."

Sado took off as August began to rapidly fire his magic bullets, Brandish and Irene watching. Finally, Sado grit his teeth, moving Mira behind himself and landing on the ground his Devil Traits all flashing to his face, forming a sphere in front of it before he roared, a jet of flames hitting the sphere and sending it shooting across the ground at August, a cloud of ash following, leaving a massive trench coated in ash behind. However, when the flames reached August, he raised a hand, the flames dispersing harmlessly against his hand. Then, he fired a magic bullet that punched through Sado. He coughed up blood, staggering forward before collapsing, landing facing away from August, seeing Mira lying behind him, blood running out of a matching hole in her back, though not in a fatal spot, unlike his own punctured heart. Then, as the three enemies were walking away, Sado blinked, and suddenly didn't hurt as bad. He looked down, staring at the now pinprick hole, one which now missed his heart. He scrambled over to Mira, wiping the blood away from her back, seeing her own wound had also shrunk. He looked back at Brandish, who glanced back at them before turning back to the front.

Sado sighed in relief and smiled, kissing Mira's forehead before picking her up and beginning to walk in the direction of the nearest allies he could sense.

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	122. Chapter 122

I do not own any of the original Fairy Tail characters.

* * *

Open Warfare

Sado closed his eyes, feeling for his magic energy. His energy was recovering quickly, as always. By the time he and Mira had caught up to the others, he was almost at a quarter his full power again. He had two of his Hellhounds carrying him and Mira, the other carrying Porlyusica and Hope. Currently, Sado was a little above half strength. However, as they crested the next hill, Sado sighed. His rest was over. They had reached the Alvarez army. One million or so soldiers in a sea between them and the Fairy Tail Guild hall. One where Sado could sense all twelve of the Spriggan Twelve. And currently, Natsu, Gray, Juvia, Lucy, Erza, Taurus, and Wendy were all tearing into the Alvarez troops off to the right side.

"Master," Sado said, dropping off of his Hellhound, Mira doing the same, now dressed in a tight black bodysuit due to a lack of other options after Irene had ruined her last outfit. "I think we should get the cockroaches out of our home, don't you?"

He walked out in front of the others and formed a pair of fireballs, then swung his arms forward and the fireballs unleashed a massive wall of pure white flames that tore along the ground to the Alvarez army before exploding and tearing through their ranks rapidly, slaughtering them. As the explosion finally ended, Sado formed his Devil Traits, curling his hands into fists.

"Let's go home," he snarled, the others all cheering before unleashing a battle cry, charging instantly, Sado's hellhounds remaining with Porlyusica and Hope, Faith landing on Porlyusica's shoulder.

They all reached the army within seconds, and as they did, all of them tore into them. It wasn't even slightly a fair fight. With Sado, Makarov, and Mira on the front line, Alvarez might as well have been civilians standing perfectly still for all the good their weapons and magic did them. However, within a matter of seconds, eight massive serpentine dragons formed from pure magic energy exploded up from the Alvarez army in the distance, a single person spinning away from them, directly toward Sado and the others. The Alvarez troops scattered and Sado snarled, his Devil Traits bleaching pure white.

"God Serena!" He warned, all of the others leaping away just as the traitor in question crashed down before them, grinning at Sado.

"God Serena," Serena introduced himself. "A god has arrived. You may bow down any time, demon."

"Not happening," Sado snarled.

Serena smirked, holding out his hand. "Purgatory Dragon's Blazing Hell!"

A massive wall of flames and smoke exploded out of his hand, flying at Sado, only for Sado to smirk and inhale, rapidly swallowing the flames. Serena raised an eyebrow and extended his other arm.

"Sea King Dragon's Encircling Deluge!" Serena shouted, a massive wall of scalding water flooding out of his hand as well and mixing with the flames.

However, as it neared Sado, Sado spiked his own power, the water evaporating as though it had stuck a solid wall, the flames continuing, allowing Sado to continue his meal in peace.

"He's so strong even God Serena can't hit him!?" an Alvarez troop gaped.

"Alright, I'll admit," Serena smirked. "That's not half bad. Now try this. Gale Dragon's Song of the Wind and Moon!"

He roared, a massive blast of wind exploding out of his mouth, mixing with the water and fire and flying at Sado. Sado swore, leaping backward, only for someone to step past him and extend a hand. Then, the blast reached the person and vanished, the massive cloud of dust it had kicked up blocking everyone's view for several seconds. Finally, it settled and Sado grinned, finding Gildarts standing before them, wearing a black cloak with fur along the top, a black half shirt leaving his abs exposed, his hair had grown long and wavy around his head as his beard grew out, and a confident smile born of knowing full well you had the power to win any fight you got into.

"Took you long enough," Cana smiled from her place beside Mira.

"Perfect timing as always Gildarts," Sado said. "Thank him for the boost for me. I'm just about full again."

Gildarts snorted in amusement. "Well, you may be full, but I'm hungry as hell. So step aside boy. I'm heading back to the guild."

"You're acting very brave," Serena smirked. "I'm very impressed. Not many can claim to be so calm when faved by the might of God Serena!"

"This guy was a powerful mage, no doubt about it," Gildarts said. "If he were alive, he'd be a force to be reckoned with. I might even be scared. But the way he is now, he's nothing but an annoyance."

"What's that?" Serena demanded. "Your big talk is starting to get on my-"

He was cut off by Gildarts appearing in front of him and slamming his forehead into Serena's, the impact setting off a massive explosion, sending dust over everything.

Sado waved a hand in front of his face to keep it out of his eyes and glanced to the side, seeing Romeo and Wendy were beside him, Romeo trembling.

"Are you okay Romeo?" Wendy asked.

"No, I'm really not," Romeo said. "I charged in with everyone else, but the truth is, I'm terrified. There are so many enemies...it's pathetic but my legs have been shaking the entire time."

Wendy smiled and turned to him, kissing him, Sado grinning widely. "You can do this Romeo. We'll all be okay. All we have to do is have faith in each other."

Romeo stared at her before nodding, smiling confidently. Sado grinned even more widely before sand exploded up around them in a sandstorm, his smile dropping away instantly.

"I'll clear everyone a manly path!" Elfman shouted, running past them in a new form that looked like a muscular, living, sandstone statue with a cloth wrapped around its head to cover everything but its eyes, pointed ears that stuck straight out to the sides, and a pair of horns. "A sandstorm's nothing to a Sandbeast!"

"Antlion Pit!" Ajeel's voice shouted, Elfman dropping into it instantly.

However, the moment he did, Sado stomped, being at the edge of it, and a wave of white flames shot around the pit, burning the sand into glass. A moment later, Lisanna, in her harpy form, swooped down and grabbed Elfman by the shoulders, breaking him out of the glass and flying into the air.

"You could stand to lose a few pounds Big Brother Elf!" Lisanna said.

"Lisanna!" Elfman smiled. "You're a sight for sore eyes."

"Ajeel!" Sado shouted, waving a hand and sending out a quick burst of flames, clearing a large area around himself of sand. "We have a score to settle! Unless you're afraid!"

Within a second, Ajeel appeared in front of him, slashing at him with an axe, only for Sado to knock it aside. He grabbed Ajeel by the face, Ajeel screaming as hi face began to burn instantly, the heat keeping him from turning to sand, lest he be burned into glass.

"Gildarts was right," Sado said. "You're all pathetically weak this time around."

Then, he drove his free hand through Ajeel's chest, Ajeel vanishing instantly, the sand falling away. As it did, he sat Gildarts drill a punch into God Serena's chest, sending him exploding through the ranks of the Alvarez troops before Serena, too, vanished.

"Let's pick up the pace people!" Gildarts shouted. "The guild's only a hop, skip, and a jump away!"

"Charge!" Natsu shouted, he and his group having worked their way over, it seemed.

Sado inhaled, then roared, sending a massive wall of flames exploding through the Alvarez troops, any that were hit being burned away instantly, and any within ten feet of it igniting like a match, a further five feet away experiencing spontaneously melted armor. Then, Sado's flames were frozen. He blinked, taking a step back from the ice as the temperature began to drop rapidly. He grit his teeth. Invel. Terrific.

"Get out here already Invel!" Sado shouted, back fisting an Alvarez soldier as he moved to attack Sado.

Invel stepped out of the ranks of the Alvarez troops and cocked his head to the side. "I suppose I shouldn't be surprised that I can't freeze you."

"I suppose not," Sado growled. "I'm honestly not looking forward to this fight."

"You shouldn't be," Invel said. "You're going to loose."

He held a hand up, two fingers extended, and an ice formation exploded into existence below Sado, Sado barely escaping being skewered by it. As he landed, however, Gray arrived, sending an Ice Make Lance at Invel, who swiped a hand, a blast of ice slamming into Gray and hurling him, Gray's attack shattering.

"Go!" Gray shouted. "I'll handle this guy!"

Sado didn't wait for Invel to try and stop him. He shot forward, tearing into the Alvarez troops once again, leaving the two Ice Wizards behind. Finally, he felt the cold begin to subside and shot forward, beginning to tear into the Alvarez troops again, sending out explosions rapidly. After several strikes, Brandish suddenly walked past, enlarged to massive proportions. Then, As Sado turned to strike again, August touched down before him. Sado stilled, staring at the far older mage in silence.

"So you've decided to deal with me in person," Sado mused. "Then this is as far as I go."

"Indeed," August nodded. "You'll not be reaching Fairy Tail."

"Well, if that's what it's come to, I suppose there's only one option," Sado sighed. "I'll have to take you with me."

He shot forward, shoving a fireball the size of his palm at August, only for August to knock him aside with a wave of his hand. Sado flipped, landing on his hands and feet before roaring, a wall of flames streaking toward August, only to part against August's hand, as they had before. However, this time, the flames wrapped around August and continued behind him, slaughtering the soldiers on the far side. August shouted in rage, swiping his hand and completely extinguishing the flames.

"Your opponent is me!" August snarled.

"My opponent is all of Alvarez," Sado said, looking around. "And I'm currently far enough away."

August opened his mouth to ask what Sado meant, only for Sado to snap his fingers, an explosion shooting off of the contact point instantly, not nearly as big as when Sado was fighting Neinhart's recreations, but big enough that as the flames and dust cleared a few seconds later, a gigantic circle of the soldiers had been vaporized, and the soldiers around the ring had been horribly burned by the ashes of their nearby allies being seared into them.

"How _dare you_!?" August snarled, the remains of a dome of solid stone crumbling around him, having barely blocked the blast.

"I dare very well," Sado snarled. "I can't kill you, but I _can_ clear my allies a path."

August shot forward instantly, magic bullets beginning to rain out of the air at Sado from along his path. Sado began to dodge the bullets, forming himself a Fire Make sword and beginning to fend off his suddenly glowing staff, barely. August attacked relentlessly, magic bullets and August's augmented staff rapidly beating Sado around and around the massive open space he had formed, within which Fairy Tail had begun to form up, attacking Alvarez from the open area, anyone who needed a rest or who was wounded staying further in, allowing Wendy to heal them.

Then, suddenly, a massive eye with a cross appeared in the sky above them, Irene's voice beginning to speak from it. Sado glanced at it, only for a magic bullet and August's staff to both drive themselves through his abdomen. Sado coughed, blood splattering over August's front before August turned, hurling Sado off of his staff. Sado landed on the ground, rolling to a stop and pushing himself up, holding a hand to the wounds, cauterizing them shut, realizing that Irene was finished speaking.

"Just die already you scum," August snarled.

"No," Sado said, snapping his fingers, the blood on August's chest exploding, hurling August backward rapidly.

August bounced off the ground once before flipping and driving his staff into the ground, skidding to a stop, a burn covering the front of his torso as he glared at Sado. Then, suddenly, Mavis's voice began to speak, August's head snapping around as well as Sado's.

"I've no intention of running or hiding," Mavis said. "That ground on which you stand is our guild. It belongs to us. And we shall take it back from you, without fail!" Suddenly, there was a gigantic, transparent Mavis standing over the battlefield. "My comrades, if my voice reaches you, heed my call! Join together and fight! Your blades, your strength,entrust them to I, the Fairy Tactician, and I shall guide you to victory!"

Sado smirked, forming himself a new sword as August turned back to him. However, before either could move, the Alvarez soldiers around them suddenly all shone before their heads burst into flames, their teeth extended into fangs, and their eyes glowed from within the flames. Sado swore loudly as the soldiers mobbed inward, swarming toward him, August straightening and watching. Sado slashed the first line, splitting them in half before hurling the sword and spinning, twin jets of flame erupting from his hands, burning the soldiers caught up in them and hurling them away, their armor melted to their bodies. After a moment, he jumped, getting into the air and beginning to rapidly launch fireballs into the ranks of the enchanted soldiers, slaughtering them quickly, glancing to the side and seeing the others struggling against them.

"This is bad," Sado growled, forming a fireball and firing it away from everyone, over to a very distant part of the Alvarez army before snapping his fingers.

Instantly, the fireball exploded as largely as the one at the beach, however, Sado used his Devil Magic enhanced Fire Make Magic to form a massive dome around the Fairy Tail members, shielding them from the concussion. Once it had passed, he let the shield fade, finding he had successfully killed a quarter of the Alvarez troops, but before he could take out more, he shot to the side, August raining magic bullets at him, both beginning to fly around rapidly, Sado barely able to avoid the blasts, unable to even attack back as they sped around and around over the Alvarez army, Sado noticing that none of August's shots hit an Alvarez troop. Then, August vanished, reappearing in front of Sado, a magic bullet appearing on every finger. Before he could fire, however, a blinding light suddenly filled the world. Sado flipped, shooting straight up, stopping as the light faded, most of Alvarez's forces now lying dead on the ground, leaving maybe ten percent of what was left. Maybe. Below Sado, August was also doing a damage assessment. As he did, Sado looked to the others, stopping as he spotted Makarov, standing in the position of having used Fairy Law, his body reduced to a statue, standing lifelessly among the members of Fairy Tail.

"He sacrificed himself for his family," August said, rising to Sado's height. "Admirable. But wasted."

Sado grit his teeth, fists clenching. Then, he took a long, slow breath, preparing himself to continue.

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	123. Chapter 123

I do not own any of the original Fairy Tail characters.

* * *

Magic King

Sado flipped over August's magic bullets, landing on his feet just in time for his sword to block August's staff. Instantly, he hurled himself to the side, a magic bullet grazing his side. He landed hard, rolling to his feet again in time to slash a magic bullet, the sword shattering, but the bullet missing him. Then, a massive blast of golden magic energy exploded into August's back, making him take a step forward. The moment he did, a massive, spiked, pink ice formation erupted out of the ground at August, only for him to extend a hand, a blast of flame demolishing it. A moment later, Racer and Cobra leapt at August from either side, only for him to spin, a fist crashing into each of their heads and hurling the away.

Jellal appeared in front of August, punching at him rapidly, the golden light of meteor surrounding him, only for August to easily outpace Jellal. He moved to stab Jellal, but Ur and Sado both reached him, knocking his staff back downward with their respective elemental swords before Sado swiped a hand at August, an explosion flying off of his hand, August stepping around it easily. Then, he slammed the top of his staff into Sado, sending him crashing into Ur and Jellal, both bouncing across the ground. Sado rolled back to his feet as Cobra sprinted at August again, only for August to spin, batting him aside just as easily, the same with Racer a moment later, who he had simply out-paced. Sado growled in rage, standing and slamming both hands into the ground. As soon as he did, the ground below August exploded, August stepping out of the explosion with flames rolling off of his body, protecting him. Sado sighed. He had hoped to at least do a little damage, but aside from Jellal's surprise attack, the only injury August had been dealt was Sado's exploding blood, which August wouldn't fall for again.

"You're all pathetic," August said. "Is this truly the best you can do?"

"Spiral pain!" Midnight shouted, finally having arrived.

His spell flew at August rapidly, but before it could reach him, August swung his arm and the same spell, yet ten times stronger, exploded away from him in every direction in a massive spinning ring, exploding into all of them and hurling them all. Sado rolled to a stop and groaned, slowly beginning to push himself up, Ur regaining her feet beside him first and helping him up, Jellal joining them a moment later. Then, a blinding light began to shine from off to the side. Sado began to turn, and made it about halfway before he understood. Pleasure so strong it burned worse than any wound tore through his body, dropping him to his knees instantly. He grit his teeth, fighting to regain control and ignore the feeling, struggling back to his feet as veins began to stick out on his temples, sweat pouring down his face. Beside him, Ur was lying on the ground, moaning and holding a hand to her womanhood, as though trying to block the effects of Larcade's magic. He knew that was what it was, because out of the entire group, only himself and Ur were being affected.

"Why am I not surprised that the devil is affected by Larcade's magic?" August growled. "Who did you rape to earn that susceptibility?"

"I didn't...rape anyone!" Sado grunted, raising a shaking hand and sending a blast of flame at August, only for him to hold out his staff, a massive ice formation erupting out of the ground and blocking the flames.

"What's wrong with you two!?" Jellal asked.

"It's...Larcade," Sado said. "An...Etherious. He...uses...the spell...Pleasure." Sado grit his teeth as an especially strong wave of agonizing pleasure shot through him and he fell back to his knees, gritting his teeth. "Why am...I not surprised...you're...not...affected...August?"

August raised a hand and a magic bullet shot out of his finger, punching through Sado's chest, barely missing his heart. Then, as Sado crashed to the ground, the light faded, the pleasure and resulting agony going with it. Sado, held a hand to his chest, struggling to breathe, his left lung quickly filling with blood. He squeezed his eyes shut, rolling onto his back to help slow the bleeding. As he did, his head lulled to the side and he watched as August calmly walked toward them.

"It's over abomination," August said. "You're finished hindering His Majesty's plans. You've been a thorn in his side for long enough."

Just then, there was a loud melodic cry from above, everyone's head snapping up, Sado seeing Faith circling overhead. He felt his eyes begin to burn as Faith cried out again, the sound more melancholy this time.

"Faith," Sado breathed. "Please. Don't do this."

Then, Faith was engulfed in flames, streaking down at Sado, crashing into his abdomen and exploding, the others all being forced to flee from the explosion. However, after a moment, it began to spiral, Sado inhaling it and swallowing. He pushed himself up, his wounds, including the cauterized ones, all steaming and healing themselves. Then, Sado knelt, scooping his hand through the ashes on the ground, lifting Faith out of them, Faith crying weakly.

"It was too early, Faith," Sado said, brushing his fingers over her head. "You weren't ready."

"A phoenix?" August asked. "A creature as pure as that chose to save _you_?"

"Faith is family," Sado said. "And now, thanks to you, she might not survive."

"How old was she?" August asked.

"A few weeks," Sado said. "Not even halfway through her cycle."

He walked over to Ur, who took Faith without question, holding the bird against her gently. Then, Sado turned back to August, taking a long, slow breath.

"Fairy Tail, and all of my friends, they're my family," Sado said. "You may not want to believe that I care about anything because I'm a devil, but I love my family. And I'm going to protect them, even if that means that I have to die. Even if I have to fight you alone until I inevitably die, I _will_ protect them. So if you have to try and kill me for your beliefs, or for your father, you go right ahead. But I will _not_ allow you to harm my family anymore."

August stared at him in silence for a long while. As he did, his hand twisted his staff back and forth in thought. Finally, he nodded, as though having decided something. "If you are so concerned with having to watch your family be harmed, then I will simply kill you first."

He shot forward, stabbing at Sado, only for Sado to duck around it, slamming a glowing white fist-shaped fireball into August, sending him skidding backward. He slowed to a stop, Sado forming his Devil Traits again and forming himself a sword, streaking forward and beginning to rapidly slash at August, August fending off the strikes, firing at Sado with his magic bullets, only for Sado to avoid them. Suddenly, just as August slammed a kick into Sado and sent him flying away, a massive white dragon with blood red flame-like hair covering her back from head to tail and large blood red feathery wings. It roared, swatting at something before tilting its head back, Sado catching Irene's voice but not making out the words. Sado glanced at August, seeing him also watching the dragon, then, August's eyes rose to the sky and Sado followed his gaze, seeing a pinprick of light, which began to rapidly grow. Then, suddenly, dark clouds began to spiral together before parting, a massive meteor, many times bigger than Jellal's Sema spell, appeared in the opening, descending rapidly. It was still miles up, but when it hit, the explosion would wipe out all of Fiore, and probably even more than that.

"She's insane," Sado breathed. "She'll kill us all."

Suddenly, a speck shot off of the ground, Sado squinting, seeing it was Erza, her body contorted and held at odd angles, as though only the bones in her right arm were undamaged, and everything else was broken. In her right hand was a katana, and she was rapidly heading for the meteor, something that Sado found even more impressive than the meteor itself, given how high the meteor was, and how wounded Erza was. Then, Erza slashed and the meteor exploded. Erza began to fall, angling herself to fall toward Irene. Sado wanted to watch the end of the fight, since it clearly was exactly that, but he sensed August move and hurled himself to the side, taking off instantly as magic bullets began to blast into the ground after him. Then, August reached him and they were fighting again in a constant cloud of sparks and blurred sword and staff afterimages and magic bullets flying in seemingly every direction, Sado barely able to stay out of their paths. Then, August swiped a hand and an explosion of magic energy blasted into Sado from below, sending him spinning into the air. He crashed down hard beside Ur, growning and slowly pushing himself up just as a skinny man with thin, receding hair and a black suit crashed to the ground beside August and Mira landed beside Sado, staggering and transforming back to her human form before beginning to collapse, Sado catching her.

"Mira!" Sado said. "What happened?"

"I'm alright," Mira smiled. "He was tougher than he looked, that's all. But I'll be okay. I'm just exhausted."

"I grow tired of you all," August said, holding out his hand, a massive sphere of magic energy forming in seconds. "I'm going to end you all."

Then, a blinding light began to shine from the ground just as August fired. Sado roared in effort, sending out a massive jet of flames that crashed into August's blast, barely slowing it. Then, the light blinded Sado completely and he felt his stomach jerk into motion before his flames ended. He heard an explosion, but when the light faded, he found that he, Ur, Faith, and Mira were all fine. They were standing in the street of Magnolia, and August was nowhere to be found.

"We're alive," Mira breathed. "Thank God."

"Irene's dead," Sado sighed. "Universe One has been undone."

"So then, everything's back to normal!" Mira gasped. "Then, that would place us..."

She turned, staring at the front door of her house before smiling widely and pushing herself up, quickly running inside. As she did, Sado sat down heavily against the side of the building, trying to catch his breath before someone found them. However, within seconds, Alvarez troops flooded out of the side streets.

"Just give it a rest already!" Sado shouted.

Then, all three of his hellhounds appeared out of the ground, tearing into the soldiers rapidly. Sado smiled, setting his head back, watching his pets qucikly drive the soldiers back.

"Good boys."

* * *

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	124. Chapter 124

I do not own any of the original Fairy Tail characters.

* * *

Returned

"Good boys."

Mira pulled the door open, shoving a small red crystal into Sado's hand and eating a healing lacrima. Sado stared at the crystal before grinning widely and shoving it into his mouth, biting down on it. Instantly, fire-type magic energy flooded his body, rapidly restoring his energy. He stood, whistling and sending his hellhounds out into the city, all three quickly tracking down Porlyusica and Hope.

"Where do we go?" Mira asked.

"How many healing lacrima do you have?" Sado asked.

"Not many," Mira said. "Only four."

"Erza, Gray, Juvia, and Wendy," Sado said. "The first three are the most wounded, according to the hellhounds, and Wendy needs her strength back to heal everyone else."

Mira nodded, shifting into her She Devil form. "Where?"

"Gray's gone to fight Zeref," Sado said, "so I'll take his to him myself."

Mira nodded, handing him a lacrima.

"Juvia's on the way there with Natsu's group," Sado said. "They're by Cardia, where I can sense August fighting Gildarts. Erza and Wendy are both about a mile to the north, in the mountains."

Mira nodded, taking off, and Sado turned to Ur, forming a Fire Make Wolf.

"He'll lead you to Porlyusica," Sado said. "Please watch over Hope for me, and see if Porlyusica can do anything to help Faith have a better chance of surviving."

Ur nodded and the wolf took off, Ur following. Then, Sado turned, forming his Devil Traits and exploding off of the ground, streaking through the air toward the Fairy Tail guildhall. Just as he reached it, Gray began to unleash a massive sea of super-powered ice magic.

"Lost Iced Shell!" Gray shouted, only for Sado to slam him to the ground, flames surging out of him, cancelling the spell.

"That's enough," Sado said. "We'll be keeping Zeref busy until Natsu gets here the hard way. You're not erasing yourself. Here."

He dropped the healing lacrima into Gray's hand, Gray staring at it, then at him in confusion as Sado leapt at Zeref, the flames rolling off of his right fist, burning through the black magic Zeref tried to block it with, exploding against Zeref and sending him exploding out the back of the guild hall. Sado followed, leaping into the air just outside of the building as a massive arrow of ice magic flashed under him, crashing into a wall of black energy and dispersing.

"Not bad," Zeref said. "You've become strong as well. Natsu is still stronger than you, but you're strong enough to face me and survive. Impressive."

"Shut the hell up!" Sado snarled. "Just burn!"

He roared, shoving both hands forward, a massive blast of flames tearing across the ground and slamming into Zeref's black magic, Zeref gritting his teeth and struggling to hold it back. Then, just as the flames ended and Zeref let his magic fade, Gray slammed a dozen Ice Make Lances into Zeref, sending him blasting along the ground. Zeref rolled to a stop just before the ground exploded and he spun into the air. Then, he flipped, landing on his feet and sending out blasts of black energy, Sado and Gray avoiding them, allowing them to explode against the ground and buildings. Then, as Sado landed, Zeref appeared in front of him, only for Natsu to appear beside him, smashing a flame-coated fist into Zeref, sending him exploding along the ground to the very edge of Magnolia before Zeref stopped. Sado stared at Natsu as Natsu cracked his knuckles, glaring at Zeref. He was covered in dragon scales along the outsides of his arms and legs, the sides and back of his torso, and the sides of his face, there were a pair of curved, red-scaled horns extended from his head, and his teeth had become more pointed. Additionally, flames were rolling off of him constantly, clinging to his body like a shroud.

Sado took a couple steps away from Natsu, watching him cautiously, despite not sensing any Etherious power within Natsu. "You good?"

"Natsu?" Gray breathed. "What...happened to you?"

"This is what happens when someone threatens my friends," Natsu said. "Dragon Force and Fire Dragon King Mode together."

"Good," Sado said. "Sick 'im."

Natsu took off in a massive blast of flame and closed the distance to Zeref in the blink of an eye, his fist crashing into Zeref's jaw just as Zeref was regaining his feet. However, just as it did, a monstrous, terrifying, dark presence that dwarfed even Natsu and Zeref combined appeared where Sado could sense Erza, Wendy, and Mira.

"Acnologia!" Sado breathed before exploding off of the ground, Devil Traits forming instantly as he shot through the air, flames exploding out of his feet to give him an extra boost.

As he crashed to the ground between Mira and Acnologia, Acnologia was stomping on Irene's body, reducing it to mush while laughing psychotically. However, when Sado landed, his laughter died off and he turned to stare at Sado, hatred beginning to fill his features. Sado swallowed hard, straightening up, inhaling slowly.

"Run," Sado said, exploding forward at the same time as Acnologia, their fists exploding into each other's, Sado being sent flying instantly. He crashed down hard and rolled to a stop, glancing to the side to see Mira and the others fleeing rapidly, Acnologia paying them no mind.

"You keep interfering," Acnologia said. "You're just a pathetic Fire Devil, and yet you always seem to be around to annoy me. I'm through allowing it. You're going to die this time."

"Honestly that's what I keep telling myself whenever I have to try and distract you," Sado said. "This is it. This is the end for me. He's going to crush me like an insect. But you know what? You haven't yet. So who knows. Maybe I'll pull a hat trick."

Acnologia snarled, pure ethernano beginning to roll off of his fist instantly. Sado roared, flames exploding off of his own fist. They both exploded forward, their fists exploding into each other's. This time, Sado was able to use enough power to match Acnologia's blow for power, now that the others were out of the blast radius. Sado flipped, kicking downward at Acnologia, and Acnologia brushed it aside, clawing at Sado, ethernano claws forming on his fingers as he did, only for Sado to flip out of the way. Then, he landed on his feet and roared, his flames exploding into Acnologia's back, sending him spinning away. however, before they got far, Acnologia flipped, inhaling the flames and swallowing, grinning. Then, seven blasts of Heavenly Body Magic exploded down on Acnologia's back, followed by Jellal appearing over Acnologia, nine glowing gold swords of magic energy over him, only for them to also drive themselves into Acnologia, hurling him. Acnologia flipped just as Jellal blasted him with a Grand Chariot, but Acnologia inhaled and swallowed the attack.

"He ate it!?" Jellal gaped. "What element does he have!?"

"He doesn't," Sado said. "He's an Ethernano Dragon Slayer. He can eat literally any magic."

"What do we do?" Jellal asked.

"We're running out of options fast," Sado said. "The only thing I can think of is for me to stop using magic and resort to Curse Fire."

"No way," Mira said, landing beside him. "We'll find a way."

"Mirajane's right," Erza said as she and Wendy reached them, followed by Angel. "We're not sacrificing you for the _potential_ chance to defeat Acnologia."

"I hope you guys are right," Sado said as Acnologia began to grow, black scales quickly growing from his skin. "Because we're about to be destroyed."

Then, just as Acnologia finished transforming, Christina crashed into his side.

"Everyone get on, now!" Ichiya shouted.

No one argued, everyone scrambling on instantly, the ship taking off, rapidly leaving Acnologia behind, though the dragon chased them instantly.

"What do we do?" Sado asked. "He's going to catch us."

"Don't underestimate Christina," Ichiya said. "Besides, if we can lure him to a certain place, we may still be able to claim victory. Isn't that right?"

"It is," a voice behind them said, everyone turning to see who it was. Then, his mouth fell open. It was Anna Heartfilia.

* * *

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	125. Chapter 125

I do not own any of the original Fairy Tail characters.

* * *

The Power of the Guild

Sado grit his teeth, clinging to the wall. It hadn't worked. Anna's plan had been a hole in space and time that she had called a time-lapse. However, when Acnologia had hit it, he had passed through harmlessly. Apparently, the hole was sealed. Now, Acnologia was clinging to the side of the ship, trying to force it into the water.

"What do we do!?" Anna shouted.

"Figure out how to open that hole!" Sado said. "I'll keep him busy!"

With that, he shot out of the ship, streaking away from it, Acnologia watching him go before following. Sado flipped, diving under Acnologia's first breath attack before launching himself up into Acnologia's stomach, a massive explosion flying off of the impact, hurling the dragon skyward, though not hurting him. Acnologia flipped, roaring and flying back downward, ethernano encasing his remaining arm as he punched at Sado, barely missing before Sado's right fist expanded to the same size as Acnologia and Sado drilled it into the dragon's face. The explosion sent Acnologia blasting through the water, flipping and spinning this time. Acnologia flipped, roaring and sending a wall of ethernano at Sado, only for Sado to fly past it, exhaling a jet of flame onto Acnologia, a massive explosion enveloping the dragon instantly, the sea below him beginning to evaporate rapidly as the explosion grew. Then, Acnologia's tail shot out of the steam and flames, swiping at sado and only barely missing. Sado retreated from the dragon, gritting his teeth, forcing his power higher. Then, he shot forward, slipping under Acnologia as Acnologia snapped at him before exploding into him from below.

* * *

Natsu flipped over a blast from Zeref's magic, flipping and exploding down onto Zeref's back with both fists. Then, he flipped, flames exploding off of his foot as he smashed it into Zeref's side, launching him. He shot after him immediately, blasting him with a Fire Dragon Roar and sending him exploding through the city to where he crashed down inside of the guild hall again. A moment later, Natsu landed just inside the wall, inhaling.

"Wait!" Mavis shouted, stepping in front of Zeref. "Please, give me a chance to speak with him!"

Natsu stopped, letting the flames fade just before Zeref grabbed her by the hair.

"Finally, Fairy Heart has arrived," Zeref grinned. "Now I have everything I need to use Neo-Eclipse."

"Please, stop!" Mavis said. "I know a way to end your immortal life! Haven't you ever tried to think of that? A way to defeat you?"

Zeref stared at her in silence for a long while before speaking. "I've tried everything. I can't die."

"So then why are you so afraid of Acnologia?" Mavis asked.

"Because even though I can't die, I cannot defeat Acnologia," Zeref said. "He'll wipe out humanity, and then he'll toy with the two of us for ever. How will that play out, I wonder? Will he simply toy with us for all eternity? Or will he one day lose interest?"

"But there's still a way to stop that!" Mavis said.

"Indeed," Zeref nodded, suddenly slamming a hand into her abdomen. "Fairy Heart!"

Mavis suddenly screamed as Zeref began to rapidly drain her of her magic power.

"Stop that!" Natsu ordered, gritting his teeth as Zeref ignored him.

"Neo-Eclipse is a magic that allows one to relive their lives," Zeref said. "I'll return to four hundred years ago. I'll have a family then. I'll have an adorable brother. And I'll be able to die. But don't worry. I'll be sure to put an end to Acnologia before he becomes a threat. I'll be sure to work with Natsu to fight him with all my strength."

"Please..." Mavis said, barely able to stay conscious. "Don't...destroy...this world. It's...the world...where we...meet."

Then, she collapsed. Zeref laughed as he began to shine with magical energy.

"It's time," Zeref said, raising his arms slowly. "This is Fairy Heart!"

Then, Magical Energy exploded out of him, flooding through the streets of Magnolia as it did. As the dust settled, Natsu stared at Zeref. Zeref now wore white leather gauntlets that reached to his elbows, yellow cloth from under the gauntlets to under the short sleeves of his white full-length coat that was open after the one golden clasp at the collar, a pair of white pants with a brown belt with a golden circle buckle with a golden "X" in the middle, a high collar on his coat, and golden designs covering his coats shoulders and the outside of the collar, down the along the bottom of the coat and its sleeves, then running down the outsides of his pant legs and around the bottoms, which ended resting on the ground in the back, the front half of his white shoes extending out of them. Behind Zeref, a pair of wings extended, formed from golden magic energy, and Zeref's hair was now pure white and his entire body and his clothes glowed with a brilliant light.

"Finally, behold the power of Fairy Heart," Zeref said. "The powers of a God, which transcends time."

"We'll just see about that!" Natsu snarled, flames exploding off of his fist as he exploded forward. "Fire Dragon King Demolition Fist!"

He slammed his fist into Zeref's face, the explosion flying away from him instantly, completely obliterating Zeref and the northwest quarter of Magnolia with him, fortunately being an empty quarter. Natsu sighed, preparing to exit Dragon Force, only for Zeref to suddenly reform before him, smiling knowingly, the damage to Magnolia also being repaired.

"Impossible!" Natsu growled. "I destroyed you!"

"Indeed," Zeref said. "But as I said before, I cannot be killed, and I have become a god that transcends time."

Natsu snarled in rage, streaking forward again, flames rolling off of both fists. However, when he reached Zeref, Zeref was suddenly closer than before, driving his hand through Natsu's chest. Natsu's eyes widened as he coughed up blood, staggering backward, then falling to his knees, coughing more blood before collapsing.

"This fight is over," Zeref said, turning to the door of Fairy Tail as it began to shine. "I'll turn the door of this guild into the Neo-Eclipse. To think, so many people have passed through this door. People beginning journeys, people returning from them. Who would have thought this door would be the beginning of my journey that ends the world. How ironic."

* * *

Sado slammed into Acnologia, flipping over him before Acnologia could attack him, then roared, blasting him in the back, blasting him into the ground. Then, suddenly, a spiraling distortion appeared off to the side, pulling in smoke and dust from Sado and Acnologia's fight. Sado grinned.

"Well done Anna," Sado grinned. "Alright. Time to go for a ride!"

He shot into the air, flipping around Acnologia's fist, a phoenix shroud forming around him before Sado crashed headlong into Acnologia, the shroud exploding and launching him backward toward the rift. Then, Sado formed a second, blasting forward as Acnologia roared, flapping his wings and rocketing forward as well, crashing headlong into Sado. The phoenix shroud once again exploded, and both flew backward away from the other, but Sado recovered first, flipping and forming a massive fireball above himself.

"One more time!" Sado shouted, swinging the fireball down and roaring, sending a jet of flame through it at Acnologia.

* * *

"Gramps always used to make be vow to return whenever I left through that door," Natsu growled, pushing himself up, flames flickering randomly on his body, his wound sealing itself rapidly. "Vow to live. I'm not letting you end this world with that door."

Zeref turned back to him just as flames exploded off of Natsu, completely obliterating the guild hall, Natsu careful to keep them away from Mavis. The light from the door faded as Natsu's scales returned, spreading to cover the entirety of his left side. His hand gained a completely scaled appearance, the scales lighter on his palms and the inside of his arm, and his nails grew into claws. Then, he grew a wing on the left side.

"Thank you Lucy," Natsu said. "I won't forget what I'm fighting for again!"

He shot forward, blasting into Zeref, beginning to blast a string of devastating blows into him, one after another. Finally, Zeref deflected one and drilled a punch of his own into Natsu, knocking him back several steps.

"How long do you intend to stand in my way!?" Zeref demanded, slamming several more strikes into Natsu before Natsu ducked under one.

"Until everyone's able to laugh together again!" Natsu shouted, drilling a punch into Zeref, launching him away.

"Then I'll make sure that never happens!" Zeref shouted, light forming around his hand as he shot forward, slashing at Natsu with it, barely missing as Natsu leapt backward.

"You can try!" Natsu growled. "But in the end, you're only thinking about yourself! All you're doing is denying this world! Without knowing the suffering of all of those who were refused by it! That's why I'll defeat you! Because I fight for my friends!"

Suddenly, his Fairy Tail crest began to shine and flames exploded off of him, leaving him barely visible to Zeref as a silhouette.

"My power comes from the strength of my guild!" Natsu shouted. "That's what fuels my flames!"

"May my curse, anger, and sorrow make all darkness turn into power!" Zeref shouted, darkness exploding off of his left hand.

"Fire Dragon King Demolition Fist!" Natsu roared, all of the flames condensing around his hand and flying off of it as he shot forward, Zeref moving to meet him.

"Stygian Blast Circle!" Zeref shouted.

"With this, this will be the end!" Natsu shouted.

"Disappear!" Zeref shouted.

Then, their strikes exploded into each other's. However, as they fought against each other's, Natsu's arm began to burn, the heat of his flames increasing and slowly overpowering Zeref's spell.

"Impossible!" Zeref snarled. "Time itself is being burned away!?"

"This is the power given to me by my guild!" Natsu shouted, finally blasting through Zeref's spell, hurling him before exploding after him and drilling a punch into his chest, the flames exploding and hurling Zeref away. Zeref crashed to the ground, horribly burned and unmoving.

* * *

Sado swore as Acnologia swallowed the blast. He should have expected that, he supposed. Finally, he sighed. One final strike. That was all he had the strength for. He exploded forward, watching as ethernano covered Acnologia's fist. Sado shouted in effort and pain, forcing all of his remaining power to his right fist, the devil hand beginning to shine from the concentration of magic energy and flame. Then, as they reached each other, Sado slammed his fist into Acnologia's. Both strikes exploded instantly and Sado was sent flying, only for Acnologia's tail to catch him instantly, beginning to squeeze, crushing him slowly.

"You were foolish to believe you could defeat me!" Acnologia growled. "I will crush you like the insect you are!"

Sado screamed, blood flying out of his mouth as one of his ribs broke off and impaled his lung. Then, Christina exploded into Acnologia, who dropped Sado as it did.

"You must survive!" Ichiya's voice shouted. "There are still people for you to protect!"

"It's over Acnologia!" Anna shouted. "This is the end!"

Then, Acnologia slammed into the time-lapse, both he and Christina being sucked in instantly. Sado crashed down hard, but a moment later, Mira was holding him above the water and Wendy was healing him, tears running down her face.

"I'm...sorry," Sado struggled to say, wheezing as one of his lungs failed to respond. "I...tried."

"Stop talking," Wendy said. "You're making it hard to heal you."

He felt his rib reset itself and grit his teeth before the pain began to recede. He looked up at the time-lapse just as it vanished. He sighed. It seemed that Zeref had been defeated. Good. He looked around, seeing a small rock outcropping off to the side and they swam that way, climbing onto it. Wendy continued to treat his wounds as they sat on the rock. However, after a few moments, a loud crack reached Sado's ears and he stared up at a crack in the sky, or maybe in the air above them.

"No way," Sado breathed. "That's...impossible."

"What is that crack?" Wendy asked.

"It can't be!" Hibiki breathed.

"Ichiya and Anna sacrificed themselves to stop him!"

"He can't be alive still!" Erza breathed.

"Fucking Acnologia," Sado growled, pushing himself up and swaying slightly before Mira caught him.

"You're too weak," Mira said. "You can't fight like this."

Suddenly, the crack shattered, Acnologia beginning to break through in his dragon form, first his arm, then his face, then more and more.

"My power is overflowing!" Acnologia laughed. "It feels just like that time when I first mastered the way of the Dragon Slayer! I have become an even more supreme king!" Finally, he broke free. "All in this world belongs to me!"

"He...ate..." Erza trailed off.

"The time-lapse?" Jellal finished.

"How is that even possible?" Wendy asked.

"So this is the magic...the power of time itself," Acnologia growled, slowly looking around. "The power is flowing so abundantly I cannot suppress it. Vanish to extinction lowly humans! Eternal Flare!"

He flapped his wings and gigantic blasts of magic, each larger than the island they were resting on and numbering in the hundreds, began to fall from the sky at them.

"Everyone, evasive maneuvers!" Erza shouted.

However, before anyone could flee, a blast crashed into their island, hurling them all, Mira barely able to hold onto Sado, now in her Demon Halphas form. They crashed into the water and began to sink, only for Mira to resurface with Sado, rising out of the water as they watched the magic blasts spread past the horizon. A blast hit off to the side in the water, sending a tsunami at them, but Mira blasted it and it dispersed, revealing Wendy being lifted toward Acnologia, shining magic energy surrounding her.

"The time is nigh!" Acnologia bellowed. "I will become the perfect dragon of extinction!"

Then Wendy screamed, transforming into light and flying into Acnologia's waiting hand, being absorbed.

"I will consume all dragons into the confines of my time!" Acnologia bellowed.

"This isn't good," Mira said.

"No it's not," Sado said, forming his devil wings and hovering beside her. "We have to find a way to kill him."

Suddenly, he turned, flying toward Magnolia rapidly. Just as Sado turned to follow, however, the sky shattered again, Anna and Ichiya falling through. Sado and Mira caught them, looking up at the sky, then after Acnologia.

"Jellal, you can use fire magic, right?" Sado asked.

"Yes," Jellal said, forming a fireball. "I can't use very strong spells, but I can use some."

"Some is enough," Sado said, inhaling the flames. "Fire Make Phoenix!"

He formed a massive phoenix which hovered just above the water. Then, Sado and Mira quickly loaded everyone onto it, all of them surprised it was relatively cool to the touch. Once they were all on, the phoenix took off, all flying after Acnologia.

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	126. Chapter 126

I do not own any of the original Fairy Tail characters.

* * *

Final Battle

Sado pushed his phoenix to fly faster, only for Mest to appear next to him, setting his hand down. Suddenly, they were over Magnolia. Sado nodded to him once and landed, letting the phoenix disappear as they dropped in front of Gray and Lucy.

"What's-"

"We'll explain later," Sado said. "We need to find the others."

"But...Natsu..." Lucy trailed off, tears streaming down her face.

"Natsu's alive," Sado said.

"What?" Gray asked. "You're sure?"

"Positive," Sado nodded. "Now let's go!"

He turned, running through the streets until they found the others, including Makarov, who was sitting in a chair that had survived the carnage of Acnologia's probably global bombardment, a blanket over his lap.

"Master," Erza breathed.

"Erza, I'm sorry for worrying you," Makarov said.

"Erza," Sado said. "I can sense Acnologia coming. Explain to them quickly."

"What about you?" Erza asked.

"I'm going to see if Porlyusica can make a healing lacrima before he shows up," Sado said. "And I'm going to check on my daughter."

Erza nodded and Sado turned, forming his wings and flying away from the group with Mira. After a few seconds, they landed at the remains of the Fairy Tail guild hall where Porlyusica was working, Hope in one arm, sound asleep, and Sado's hellhounds seated around Porlyusica. Off to one side, Ur was sitting on a piece of rubble with Faith.

"You're back!" Ur smiled.

"Hurry over here," Porlyusica said. "I can only make one, but I need your blood."

Sado hurried over, cutting his palm and holding it over the beaker she held out for him. After a moment, she set it over a flame, stirring it before pouring the small amount of liquid into one of the lacrima trays. Once the lacrima had formed, Sado quickly ate it, gagging it down, then turned to Mira, who was holding Hope.

"We'll be okay," Sado said. "We'll see her again."

Mira nodded and kissed Hope's forehead before passing her back to Porlyusica. Then, the two of them flew back to the others. Just as they did, the horizon lit up with an explosion, Acnologia roaring as he neared Magnolia.

"What's the plan!?" Sado asked.

"We need a ship, so everyone needs to get to Hargeon!" Lucy said. "Then we need a team to distract him until it's ready before leading him to Hargeon. While we're doing that, me, Levy, and Freed will head to the guild library to find the one magic he couldn't break!"

"Fairy Sphere," Sado said. "That's defensive, though. We can't...wait, are you planning to trap him in the sphere?"

"It's the only chance we've got," Lucy said.

Sado stared at her before sighing. "I'll handle the distraction and leading him."

"I'll help," Mira said, stepping forward in her She Devil form. "Warren, let us know as soon as you're ready."

Warren nodded just as Ur and Porlyusica arrived, riding on Sado's hellhounds.

"What are we doing?" Ur asked.

"Going to Hargeon," Sado said, turning toward Acnologia. "They can fill you in on the way."

He formed everyone a Fire Make Horse and everyone climbed on, all taking off instantly as Sado and Mira flew up to draw Acnologia's attention. Sado went first, flying around Acnologia and peppering him with fireballs as hot as he could make them, Acnologia roaring before turning, snapping at him and barely missing. Sado flipped, dropping under Acnologia before exploding upward, drilling a fist coated in flame into the underside of his jaw. The fire exploded, Acnologia reeling back a little before punching at Sado, missing. However, they had his attention now, so he and Mira switched to avoiding his strikes, keeping him swinging at them but not wasting energy attacking. Finally, after nearly twenty minutes, they turned, retreating toward Hargeon. Acnologia chased them instantly, firing a breath attack at Sado. Sado shot out of the way, allowing the attack to blast the forest below him. He grit his teeth, turning and hurling a fireball into the ground below Acnologia, the explosion sending trees and debris blasting into him from below, along with the actual concussion, and sending him crashing to the ground. However, within seconds, he was up again, flying after them just as fast as before.

* * *

Natsu crashed to the ground, rolling to his feet beside Gajeel, both gritting their teeth and entering Dragon Force. Then, they shot forward, slamming a punch into Acnologia, sending him skidding backward. He skidded to a stop, grinning widely, before swiping his arm, a blast of ethernano hurling them away. Natsu flipped, landing on his feet and gritting his teeth.

"Fine," Natsu growled. "I guess I'll have to stop messing around."

Suddenly, the scales on his body spread to cover half of him, as they had against Zeref, and flames began to explode off of him, though not as much as at the end of his fight with Zeref. Finally, lightning began to fly over his body rapidly.

"So we're really going for it, huh?" Gajeel asked. "Alright then. I'll give you a hand."

He reentered Dragon Force again, darkness flying off of him as Rogue and Sting both stepped up, entering dragon force as darkness began to fly off of Sting.

"Let's go," Sting said.

The four of them shot forward, beginning to strike at Acnologia rapidly, blasts of their various elements flying off at Acnologia as he fended the four of them off, grinning wickedly. Finally, he caught Rogue's leg and spun, smashing the other three away with him before hurling him at Laxus.

"Not bad," Acnologia grinned. "You actually caught me off guard for a second there. But it won't happen again."

* * *

Sado and Mira landed at the port, turning to look back at Acnologia just as he began to rain magic blasts on it. Except, instead of attacking the people, he blasted the ships, all of them, into oblivion.

"Dammit!" Sado growled. "Now what?"

"I have no idea," Erza said. "Without the ships, will the plan even work?"

"We'll make a new one!" Gray shouted, he, Lyon, Ur, and Ultear all running toward the water, Juvia following.

Sado turned back to Acnologia and shot into the air, flying past him as he swung at him. Acnologia flipped, swinging first a wing, then his tail at Sado as well, Sado avoiding both. Then, as Sado reached Acnologia, a massive ice ship burst into existence on the water. It was gigantic. Almost triple the size of Acnologia. Sado grinned, flames exploding out of his feet and blasting him down into Acnologia's back, sending both plummeting into the ship, cracks exploding into existence over the entire thing but it held. Instantly, Juvia began to rock the ship using the water, Gray, Lyon, Ultear, and Ur all repairing the damage before running to the others. Sado leapt back, flying back to the others, where they were all standing in a pair of rings, holding each other's hands. Sado flew to where Mira was waiting and slipped his hand into hers. Then, he took Ur's hand on his other side.

"Fairy Sphere, activate!" Lucy shouted, blinding light shining from them all.

* * *

"Natsu, I'll enchant all of our powers to you!" Wendy said, each of the Dragon Slayers elements beginning to fly off of him.

"I feel it," Natsu growled, scales forming over the outside of his arms, legs, torso, and face again as he turned to Acnologia. "Prepare to feel the power of the Seven Flame Dragon!"

"Futile!" Acnologia shouted, ethernano exploding off of his hand as he moved to meet Natsu's charge. "Simply combining your feeble powers-"

* * *

"-will never be enough to prevail against the Dragon King!" Acnologia finished, ramming his shoulder into the inside of the sphere again.

"It's going to break!" Panther Lily shouted.

"It can't be!" Levy said.

"Our magic power wasn't enough!" Sado growled.

Just then, a glowing pink bracelet-like seal with a heart on the back of the wrist appeared on all of their wrists.

"In that case, we'll just have to collect it from all over the continent," Melody said, stepping up to the circle and taking her place beside Ultear. "Sorry I'm late. I've connected everyone."

Suddenly, Sado felt magic energy flooding into him, suddenly able to sense hundreds of people. Twilight Ogre, Quatro Cerberus, the entirety of the surviving Wizard Saints, Mermaid Heel, Flare Corona, even Princess Hisui. Sado grinned, focussing all of the magic he could feel flowing into him into the spell, the others doing the same. As they did, the Fairy Sphere began to shrink, Acnologia growling inside of it.

"I...can't...move!" Acnologia growled.

More people began to register in Sado's mind. The members of Phantom Lord, wherever they ended up, the demons from Galuna Island, Simon, Wally, Sho, The exeeds, Brandish, even an unwilling Dimaria. Finally, the sphere began to shine blindingly and the magic inside made it impossible for Acnologia to move. Then, he began to roar, and snarl, and scream about wanting to destroy, and to bathe in the blood of dragons.

* * *

Natsu leapt forward, pulling his fist back and bracing himself to be punched by Acnologia, only for Acnologia's attack to dissipate as he froze, body trembling but eyes wide.

"My body...it won't move!" Acnologia snarled.

"Then die!" Natsu shouted.

"Natsu!" Laxus shouted.

"Take everything we have!" Gajeel shouted.

"And slam him with it!" Rogue shouted.

"You're the only one who can!" Sting shouted.

"I'm countin' on ya!" Cobra said.

"Natsu!" Wendy shouted.

All of their elements strengthened and Natsu shouted in effort, the magic all spiraling into a massive fist double the size of Natsu's body. As he leapt at Acnologia, Acnologia swung his left stump in an attempt to block it, only to remember he had lost that arm. Then, Natsu slammed the attach into Acnologia's entire body. It exploded instantly, hurling Acnologia.

"I...I need...more..." Acnologia's voice spoke in Natsu's head as he sailed away in slow motion. "More blood...more destruction...more tears...I...will destroy all...I will...grasp everything...in my hands. I...will...have everything."

"There's no way you can fit everything into your hands," Natsu said as Acnologia's body began to break apart. "That's why you've got to treasure the things you _do_ have. Don't get greedy. All _I_ need are my friends. As long as I've got them, I don't need anything else."

Acnologia smiled as his head began to disintegrate. "I see...you are...worthy of the title of King."

Then, he was gone.

"King?" Natsu asked. "Thanks, but no thanks."

Then, a blinding light flashed through the air, blinding them all.

* * *

Sado stared at the Fairy Sphere as Acnologia exploded, his pieces bursting out through the sphere, which sealed itself a moment later. He blinked before smiling.

"Acnologia..." Erza breathed.

"He disintegrated," Mira said.

"Looked more like an explosion to me," Sado smiled.

"Did Fairy Sphere have that kind of power?" Juvia asked.

"No," Gray smiled. "It's must be..."

"He did it!" Happy cheered.

"Yeah," Lucy smiled. "Natsu and the Dragon Slayers won."

Sado nodded, wrapping an arm around Mira, looking to Porlyusica, who was walking over with Hope, Faith sitting on Porlyusica's shoulder. Everyone began to cheer, Sado feeling joy flooding through Melody's link before she let it fade. Then, suddenly, the sky shattered, the Dragon Slayers falling through, Natsu crashing down on Lucy and Happy, and the others all landing a bit more gracefully, or otherwise being caught by their friends. Within seconds, Laxus was swarmed by the Thunder Legion, Cobra was getting kissed by Kinana, Gajeel was kissing Levy, Wendy was kissing Romeo, having just been welcomed back by Carla, Sting and Rogue were being welcomed back by their guild, and Natsu was kissing Lucy, who he was still lying on top of.

"Well whataya know," Sado smiled. "We won a war and killed Acnologia both without losing anyone."

"Almost," Mira said, taking Hope from Porlyusica. "Mavis is gone."

"It's what she wanted," Sado smiled, seeing Hope reaching for him and holding out a finger, which she instantly shoved into her mouth. "It's better this way. No one should have to live alone forever."

Mira nodded and leaned on his shoulder as they watched everyone celebrating. Sado grinned and nodded to Ultear, who was currently kissing Sorano, and off to the side, Lisanna and Yukino were kissing. Off to Sado's left, he could see Ur, Shelia, and Lyon all celebrating the fact that all three were still safe. Sado smiled kissing the top of Mira's head and resting his cheek against her head again.

"Come on," he finally said, everyone looking over. "Let's go see how much of the guild Natsu destroyed this time."

Everyone laughed and Sado formed them all Fire Make Horses, everyone climbing on except the Dragon Slayers, who all decided to walk instead.

* * *

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	127. Chapter 127

I do not own any of the original Fairy Tail characters.

* * *

Settled Down

"This year's Kem Zaleon Prize for best new author goes too...allow me to introduce...the author of 'Iris's Adventure,' Miss Lucy Heartfilia!"

The crowd began to cheer instantly, Sado clapping and grinning knowingly as the rest of Fairy Tail and all of their friends from other guilds began to cheer behind him. Ten minutes later, the ceremony was over and food was brought out, along with champagne, wine, and Cana's usual contribution of a couple dozen kegs of beer. Almost instantly, Fairy Tail had begun their usual antics.

"Hard to believe it's already been a year since the war, isn't it?" Mira asked.

"I'm still trying to wrap my mind around the fact that I didn't lose any friends," Sado said.

Mira smiled, glancing at Hope, who was stumbling around chasing Faith, who kept just out of reach, stopping every once in a while to let Hope almost catch her before avoiding her, Hope shrieking in delight every time Faith did so. Sado smiled.

"I'm shocked she hasn't burned anything yet," Sado smiled.

As if on cue, Hope hiccuped then burped, a fireball as big as she was flying out of her mouth, only to change direction in the air and be sucked into Natsu's mouth. He grinned, biting a chunk out of the meat he was holding.

"And this is why she's going to grow up calling him Uncle Natsu," Sado smiled, Mira nodding.

"Sado!" Asuka said, pouting up at him.

Sado chuckled and waved a hand, his three hellhounds forming into small Fire Make Puppies, beginning to bark excitedly and bounce around her, Asuka laughing delightedly and beginning to play with them.

"I sometimes have trouble remembering that those three are vicious hellhounds that can take out an entire enemy force alone," Lucy said. "Natsu! I said I'd invite you all only if you behaved yourselves! Knock it off! You're embarrassing me!"

"Too bad," Natsu smiled.

"I thought they said to wear formal attire," Gray said, referring to Natsu wearing the same outfit he always did, even though he himself was wearing only his underwear.

"Yeah, then how about you put some on," Natsu countered.

"What's that!?" Gray growled, both beginning to push against the other's head with their own.

"You wanna go?" Natsu growled.

"Would you two stop fighting!?" Erza said, kicking both. "This is a joyous occasion!"

"I must protect Gray from public shame," Juvia, who had clearly been drinking, said, beginning to pull her own clothes off. "I have no choice but to strip as well."

"Who was it!?" Macao shouted as Sado hurriedly stopped her. "Who let her drink!"

"Who cares, let her drink more!" Wakaba said.

"Wakaba!" Mira scolded.

Sado chuckled, leading Juvia to the drink table and giving her a glass of water before grabbing Gray by the shoulder, thankfully dressed again, and turning him to Juvia.

"She's drunk, control her," Sado said.

"Oh boy," Gray sighed.

Sado turned, looking around as Anna began to give Lucy advice on living as an author.

"Oh I get it," Natsu was saying to Gajeel. "Lucy smells like Anna. That's why I'm always so calm around her."

"Cut it out ya creep!" Lucy snapped.

"Oh I get it, you had a crush on Anna,"Gajeel grinned.

"Yeah, and?" Natsu asked.

"Whataya mean and!?" Gajeel demanded.

Sado shook his head, smiling and walking back to Mira.

"Still playing peace keeper?" Jellal asked.

"Always," Sado chuckled. "Barely helps that I'm Guild Master still, too. Speaking of, go keep your girlfriend out of trouble. Now that your name got cleared you..."

He stopped, eyes widening as he distinctly heard the words "baby" and "responsibility" in Levy's voice as she was whispering to Gajeel. He turned to stare, seeing Wendy's face was a dark crimson. So his slightly above human hearing hadn't been wrong then. He grinned. Good for them.

"What's up?" Mira asked.

"I think Levy and Gajeel might be..." Sado trailed off, grinning as Mira squealed in delight.

"Hey, are you two ever actually going to get married?" Jet asked.

Sado blinked, looking to Mira then back, both shrugging. "Eventually, probably."

Jet shook his head and shrugged, walking away. Mira smiled, leaning on his shoulder.

"You know, Laxus is still single," Mira said. "We haven't played our favorite game for a while."

"That's true," Sado smiled. "What about Cana?"

"She's dating Bacchus now," Mira said.

"Really?" Sado asked. "Well...shit. This one might actually be a challenge then."

Mira smiled. "I'll go find some candidates."

Sado chuckled, kissing her before Mira walked away. Sado smiled, heading over to the food and getting himself something to eat. Just as he raised the first bite to his mouth, however, he froze, the food falling back to the plate as he stared, the rest of the guild doing the same. There, not far from where they were partying, was Mavis. However, as she was walking past, she dropped a handkerchief, and Zeref stepped out of the crowd, picking it up. Sado barely managed to keep from dropping his plate, or from attacking Zeref right there. He didn't sense any darkness, or even any magic, from either.

"Excuse me, you dropped this," Zeref said.

"Oh, thank you," Mavis smiled.

"Are you with one of the publishing companies?" Zeref asked.

"Yes, only a small one though," Mavis said. "Are you?"

"No," Zeref laughed, rubbing the back of his head. "I'm just an amateur writer. Miss Heartfilia's work was just so moving to me that I snuck in and now I'm here."

"Me too," Mavis giggled.

"By the way," Zeref said, leaning in slightly. "Your...uh...shoes? Where are your shoes?"

"Oh no!" Mavis gasped. "I'm such a...I completely forgot about them!"

Zeref began to laugh, Mavis joining in after a moment.

"I'm Arleos," Zeref finally introduced himself.

"I'm Mio," Mavis smiled.

"If you wouldn't mind, can we...do you want to talk a little?" Zeref asked as they began to walk away.

"Yes!" Mavis beamed. "Sure."

Sado smiled, shaking his head and beginning to eat. As the party wore on, things began to get more and more out of hand. Soon, he had to stop Wakaba and Macao from harassing the women at the party. Then there was a fight between Natsu and Gray. Then Cana was drunk and forcing Lucy to drink, resulting in her needing to be calmed down. Finally, the party ended, and Sado saw Natsu carrying a completely wasted Lucy home. Sado and Mira headed back to their own house, the cabin they had lived in after Tartaros, with Hope and Faith. As Sado sat down with Hope in his lap and watched Mira as she was cooking, Sado smiled.

"Hey Mira," Sado said, setting Hope on her feet and kneeling behind Mira, holding out the ring he had had made as she turned around, instantly covering her mouth. "Will you marry me?"

Mira threw her arms around him instantly and He stood, spinning before setting her down and kissing her, slipping the ring, a lacrima ring with flames running through the entire thing, much like the lacrima in her necklace, onto her finger where she smiled at it.

"I love it," Mira smiled. "Your flames make the best jewelry."

"That's not mine," Sado smiled. "It's Hope's. It'll work the same as the necklace, though."

Mira stared at it, then up at him before kissing him again. "I love you."

"I love you too," Sado smiled. "So, I'll just pick a day in about three years, shall I? That's our usual timeline."

Mira laughed, pushing him lightly. "Two months. That should be enough time to invite everyone."

Sado smiled and nodded. Finally, he had all he could ever want.

THE END

* * *

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